Negima FEI!
by TrueSuffering
Summary: Chapter 7 is OUT! Light shines down on old and new faces as secrets are reveals and more friendships are forged in the brand new Student Troubles Arc! Pairings...hmmm...gonna need to think about it now...
1. I New Life in Japan

**Me: Hello people! Nice to meet you. This is my first ever Mahou Sensei Negima fanfic so go please go easy on me if its a little shaky. This will be a NegixKufei story (Rare isn't it? There are like barely any NegixKu around here, how sad)**

**Negi: Ahh, good luck TS-san**

**Me: Well enough chit-chat...Chisame, if you could please do the disclaimer**

**Chisame: TS does not own Mahou Sensei Negima, it's characters, or anything else related to it.**

**Me: (Sobs) You didn't have to put it that way...By the way, this will basically be a retelling of the story. Please enjoy...and comment. Flames are allowed if you don't like it. Tell how I can improve xD  
**

* * *

Graduation. He never thought the day would finally come. Studying, practicing, training everyday for this one achievement. Negi Springfield, age 10, could not wait as he walked through the grand hallway of the Magic Academy. His black robe fluttered as he ran across the marble, the sound of his feet reverberating across the hallway's expanse. As he ran he noticed that a second set of footsteps had joined his. Looking behind him, he saw, in a navy blue mage's robe, was his childhood friend, Anya Cocolova, age 11.

"Ah, Anya!" Negi yelled as he slowed down a peg for her to catch up.

"Negi! You idiot! Don't slow down, we're gonna be late for the graduation ceremony!" she yelled back.

"B-But I'll leave you behind!" Negi said as she finally caught up.

"Gah! How will you ever find your father with that attitude" she sighed.

Father. The words rang inside Negi's head as he ran. Negi's father was a world renowned Magister Magi famous for his deeds in a war fought long ago. His father went missing 10 years ago, before Negi was born and was presumed dead. Thus the world mourned for a hero, the great legacy he left behind would be remembered in the hearts of millions. But Negi knew better. 6 years. 6 years ago, he was saved by the man presumed dead. Saved from the possibility of living as cold, hard stone. Negi and Anya ran until finally they entered the open area which held the graduating students, of which there were only 5. Negi and Anya took their places in a line the 5 students were to stand in as they were presented their certificates. The headmaster called out the first four names. He watched as the first boy walked up, then the 2nd, then Anya, who walked up giddily, then the last kid before himself.

"Negi Springfield" the dean called out.

Negi gulped as he walked up to receive his certificate. The walk that lasted but 5 seconds felt like 5 years to him. He could officially search for his dad. He could even help people along the way. He could train to reach his dreams. He took the last step and extended his hand as he grasped the little piece of paper that held his accomplishments and dreams.

"Good job Negi" the headmaster whispered with a wink as Negi thanked him.

He walked back in the the line as the headmaster had his last minute speech.

"Friends. Family members. I am glad to be here this day to commemorate these astounding student on their accomplishments. They walked into this academy with minds ready to learn and have worked hard as we gave them what the wanted! We taught them all that we knew and even then we taught them more! Today, congratulate them. They came in as mere fledglings and have emerged, strong, determined, and ready to soar!"

Everybody clapped as the ceremony came to an end with the headmaster's ridiculously corny speech.

_**1 hour later**_

"Negi! I see my job! I'm going to go to London to do fortune-telling! Can you see yours yet?" Anya yelled with glee as she stared at the form.

"Calm down Anya. Negi will get his in a minute" said a tall blonde woman.

"You're right Nekane-oneechan! I'm starting to see something" Negi cried.

"I hope it's close to home" smiled his cousin.

The letter in Negi's hand shone brightly for a second. As the glowing died down, black cursive letters had appeared.

"Teaching in...JAPAN?!" he gaped as he read it aloud.

A suddenly thump, like a soft object hitting something hard made him turn around. His cousin Nekane had fainted on the floor. Anya and Negi quickly picked her back up as she came back to life. She groaned slightly before answering.

"Japan? That's too far away, there had to have been a mistake" she whined.

"I'm afraid it is no mistake Nekane-san" came a voice.

The headmaster from earlier walked out from behind a pillar. His long flowing beard made them wonder how they didn't notice him beforehand. He chuckled slightly at their expressions. One looking frantic, one seemingly uncaring, and one looking saddened.

"You really love sneaking around and popping out of random places don't you" Anya said as she noticed that he wasn't hiding behind a pillar but INSIDE the pillar.

"It's fun to watch people's expressions when I do that. As for you, do not worry Negi. Don't be so glum, there is a school in Japan I want you to teach at. An old friend of mine was willing to take you into his school. Starting next month, you will be an English teacher at-"

_**In Japan**_

"Mahora Academy! It's been so long-aruyo. Summer is sooo boring, no one to fight with" yelled a young, dark-skinned girl.

"Ku-chan, you shouldn't think about fighting all the time-ne" said a second girl.

"Aww, c'mon Chao! Spar with meee" Ku begged.

Chao turned to her friend with a sigh. Her friend Ku Fei was always like this. Over the summer she would always come to "spar" with her due to her sheer boredom. She's sort of glad school would be starting again in a month. She won't have to worry about Ku Fei coming to interrupt her when she's working. Despite the constant challenges, she never seems to turn them down. Ku Fei was her friend and she had to admit, it was fun fighting her.

"Fine fine but after this I need to join Hakase and work on Chachamaru" she replied as she entered her stance.

"Yay" cheered Ku Fei as she got into her stance.

In a second, a flurry of eye dazzling moves were thrown. Ku Fei dodged a straight jab followed by a strong elbow aimed for her stomach. She countered with a kick aimed for her friend's head. Chao bent back as her leg flew straight up in a complete 90 degree angle. Ku Fei backflipped to avoid the hit. Landing on her feet, she sprang foward with a palm thrust. Her friend caught the hand and spun, forcing her to continue moving foward with her hand. Using Ku Fei's mistake to her advantage, she did a spin kick to the blonde's exposed back.

"Kuh!" gasped Ku Fei as she get's knocked foward by the force of Chao's leg.

Chao gave her no time to recover as she charged in with a flying elbow. Ku Fei dropped down just in the nick of time to dodge it and sent a strong uppercut into Chao's chin. The hit connected and her friend flew into the air. Jumping up, she hoped to get in a second uppercut to her friend's back but Chao spun in midair and caught her hand. Chao pulled her up and tried to knee her in the ribs as Ku Fei tried to send her palm to block and hopefully counter attack. Their attacks connected in mid-strike and both were sent hurdling to the ground.

"Heh, not bad-ne" Chao complimented her friend as she landed.

"I guess we should stop warming up-aru" Ku Fei responded back.

"CHAO-SAN! KU FEI-SAN!" came a female voice.

The two stopped as they recognized a friend of theirs. Another young girl ran up to them panting. She had black hair tied back in two braids and was wearing a lab coat. It was none other then Hakase, Mad Scientist and Chao's lab partner.

"Hakase! What are you doing here?" Chao greeted.

"Haa...Haa...Haa, I seriously need to start working out. Anyway Chao-san, that new robot we were developing has run wild! The lab is getting destroyed and I can't stop it! Even worse is that some scientists from our rivals release a virus and it's gotten into most of the computers. Basically it's complete havoc" Hakase explained.

"Why didn't you say so earlier-ne?! I'm sorry Ku! I'll have to fight you some other time" she yelled.

"Don't worry-aruyo, I'm coming too! I might get to fight something" she cheered as the three of them ran off to the Mahora Science Lab.

* * *

_**One month later**_

School is starting once more at Mahora Academy. Summer is over, it's time to learn. The only thing you have to do is...CATCH THE TRAIN! Hundreds of people were seen running as fast as they could to reach the long train that heads through all the schools. The first one's usually get the comfy seats but the late ones are possibly left behind. No one wants to be late for their own first day. Indeed, hundred of people were running with more then 70 percent of them women. But if one were to look closer, they would see a small foreigner carry a large bag and staff. Negi Springfield has made it to Japan! Negi continued running, not noticing that that the way he was going, there seemed to have been an increase in girls. But he didn't care because of one thing...he's late.

"**WAHHHH! I can't believe I overslept! What kind of teacher oversleeps?!**" he berated himself.

Even using his wind magic wasn't enough because just as the train was appearing, it was also disappearing. The train was driving away and the last minute people were running towards it, some even jumping on.

"**NOOO! I missed it!**" cried Negi as he came to a halt.

He thought about using his staff but there were too many possible witnesses for him to fly into the air. The 10 year old decided to do what most 10 year olds do when there is trouble...panic.

"**What will I do? What will I do!? What will I do!?**" he ranted as he started walking in small circles.

Due to his flustered mind, he did not notice as a dark-skinned, Chinese girl came running down the aisle.

"Aiyah! Watch out!" yelled Ku Fei, but it was too late.

The two crashed into each other painfully. Negi felt like he was hit by a car. Ku Fei felt like she ran into a wall. Both groaned as they got back up.

"**A-are you OK?**" Negi asked as he steadied himself.

"Huh?" she replied as she flipped off the ground.

"**Are you hurt anywhere?**" he asked again. **(Author's note: When it's bold it's usually when he speaks in English)**

"Huh? Speak in Japanese-aru!" she yelled since she had NO idea what Negi just said.

Negi blushed with embarrassment as he noticed he was speaking in English. That's what he deserved for getting there only yesterday and at midnight for that matter. He quickly spoke in fluent Japanese.

"Are you hurt anywhere?" he repeated.

"Oh! No, I'm fine. Are you ok though?"

"Yes yes, I'm fine" he responded as he picked up his belongings off the street.

"Why are you here bouya?"

"Ahh, I'm supposed to be headed for some place called Mahora Academy"

"What? I'm from Mahora! I can get you there!"

"R-really? How, the train is already go-WAH?"

Ku Fei picked picked him up over her shoulder, and had him hang onto his bag as she jumped on top of a building and stated leaping over rooftops. Negi was too scared to try and move from his position. Normally someone would say this is a kind gesture but Kufei forgot one main fact...Mahora Academy is an ALL GIRLS school! Any smart person would ask why she carrying a small BOY to an ALL GIRLS school. Simple, Ku Fei...is NOT a smart person. She leaped along faster and faster until the moving train came into sight.

"I see the train! I see the train!" she yelled as she jumped a few more buildings, slowly but surely catching up.

"Are all Japanese people this strong?!" wailed Negi as he was starting to feel sick.

Ku Fei did one last, large leap and landed with a thud on top of the moving train. Negi fell to the ground in a crumpled heap. He quickly got up, swaying slightly due to nausea and the train which was still in motion. Gaining back his composure, he turned to the crazy girl in front of him.

"ARE YOU CRAZY?! Who DOES that?!" he ranted, tears streaming down his face.

"I got you on the train didn't I-aru?" she smiled.

_"This girl is crazy. Nekane-oneechan always said to stay away from crazy people. But she did help me" _Negi thought before asking "What's your name? I'm Negi Springfield"

"Negi? N-e-g-i...spring union?" she said as she pulled an union from out of nowhere.

"NOT THAT KIND OF NEGI!" he yelled.

"Ahaha, you're funny. I'm Ku Fei. Nice to meet you-aruyo" she held out her hand.

Negi shook her hand as a sudden voice came out from below the train cart they were on.

"Ku Fei-dono! Is that you up there?" came a feminine voice Negi didn't recognize.

"Ah, Baka Blue!" Ku Fei called as she looked over the edge.

"Baka Yellow!" said a mature looking girl with a long ponytail and squinted eyes.

"How did you know it was me up here Kaede-aruka?"

"You always jump on top of the train Ku Fei-dono" Kaede answered.

"Ahh, but I brought a friend this time" she said as she grabbed Negi and hauled him over the edge, leaving him dangling over the side.

"WAAAAAAH! PULL ME BACK! PULL ME BACK!" Negi yelled.

"Don't worry, I won't drop you-aru" she said.

"THAT'S NOT THE POINT!" he yelled back.

"Why don't you both just come inside" Kaede said, a sweatdrop already formed on the back of her head.

In a split second, Ku Fei jumped down with Negi and entered through the window. Negi landed on his face as Ku Fei dropped him. He rubbed his nose and looked around the compartment. No one in the cart seems to have cared that a Chinese girl just jumped in through the window. They probably didn't notice a small boy was dragged along inside as well. Negi looked at the second girl that was talking to Ku Fei. They had on matching uniforms, a vest-like top with a white shirt underneath and plaid skirts. He noticed that most of the girls on the train wore the same uniform.

"So, what's your name-de gozaru?" Kaede asked.

"Oh, I'm Negi. Negi Springfield" he answered.

"Like this one?" she said as she pulled out an union from out of nowhere.

"EHH?! Not you too! I am NOT a vegetable!" he wailed.

"If you are going to the elementary school, you missed the stop about 10 minutes ago" she pointed out.

"Ah, Kaede, he's going to our school!" Ke Fei explained.

"But our school is a girl's only school, Ku-dono"

"...Oh yeah. I forgot-aruyo" she said knocking on her head.

"A-ALL GIRL'S SCHOOL?!" Negi gaped, his mouth ajar.

_**10 minutes later**_

Negi was getting off the train after explaining to them why he was headed for Mahora Academy. They didn't believe he was a teacher until he showed them his teaching license.

"Wow, you must be really smart! I wonder if you're smarter then Hakase" Ku Fei praised.

"I need to find the dean's office. Can you show me the way?" Negi asks.

"Sorry, I need to get going" Kaede apologizes as she runs off.

"I'll show you Negi-bouzu" Ku Fei offers as she starts leading the way.

They walked through a park. They walked past some pools. The headed through the track fields. They climbed over the Mountain Climbing Club's fake mountain. They walked through a plaza. After about an hour of walking Negi finally spoke up.

"Umm...Ku Fei-san, aren't we heading for the dean's office?"

"Huh? We were?" she asks with a blank expression.

Negi looked around the area.

"Where are we Ku Fei-san?" Negi asked.

"I don't know-aruyo. I've never went this far before"

"YOU MEAN WE'RE LOST?!"

"It's a very big campus-aru"

Negi ran around the area frantically. He needed to find the dean's office and the girl near him is nearly useless. He silently mourned that he didn't run into someone a little more...dependable.

"Ah, Takahata-sensei! What are you doing out here?" came Ku Fei's voice.

Negi turned around to see who Ku Fei was addressing. As if the gods were smiling at him, he saw his good friend, Takamichi T. Takahata standing there.

"Ahh, Ku Fei-san. Have you seen a small 10 year old, about...this high, has red hair, and the same name as a vegetable?" he asks.

"Ahhhhhh...yeah, right over there" she points over her shoulder.

"Negi-kun, how are you?" he said, addressing the child.

"Takamichi! Help me, we're lost and I can't find the dean's office" Negi wailed.

"Don't worry, I was sent to find you. Come along Negi-kun...you too Ku Fei-san"

The three walked off with Takahata away from the plaza. They climbed BACK over the fake mountain and went in a different direction.

_**30 minutes later**_

"Hello Negi-kun. I am the dean of this school, Konoemon Konoe. You can call me Dean Konoe" said an old man.

Negi had finally arrived at the dean's office. Takahata had left with Ku Fei to bring her to her class and to allow Negi to chat with the dean. Negi noticed that for a dean, his office was very...barren. There was basically the essentials and a couple other things, yet despite the empty room, it permeated a sense of grandeur. Negi couldn't help but feel that the dean was more then he appeared to be.

"Now Negi-kun. I bet you are wondering why I wanted you to teach here. Your scores in the Magic Academy were the highest in over 10 years! I am truly impressed. I sense great potential in you" he smiled at Negi as he spoke.

"T-Thank you Dean Konoe-san" Negi stammered back, the praise embarrassing him.

"Now, the class I am assigning you will be...challenging but I believe you can get their attention"

Negi gulped as he heard that. Would he be assigned to a delinquent class? If people in Japan were as strong as Ku Fei, he'll be killed!

"Shizuna-sensei. Can you please bring Negi-kun to class 2-A? Negi-kun, here is a portfolio containing the class's students, their seat numbers and names, and background. Work hard"

With that, a tall, busty lady walked over towards Negi and led him out of the room. Negi walked next to the person called Shizuna as they headed to class 2-A. He snuck a peek at the list of students. He didn't get to see all of them, only seat numbers 1-10, since room 2-A was nearby.

"I'm going to be watching over you for today Negi-sensei" Shizuna said with a gentle smile.

"Th-Thank you Shizuna-sensei. I hope I can live up to your expectations"

Negi slowly opened the door. He suddenly sensed something about to fall on his head. He was just about to cast a spell when suddenly...

"AH?! Negi-bouzu!" came the familiar voice of Ku Fei.

Negi looked up to see that she had caught a rather large pail containing an even larger amount of...apparently mayonnaise. He backed up surprised that he was nearly hit by a pail of mayo and that Ku Fei was in that classroom.

"Ku Fei-san! What are you doing? You ruined the prank! That pail was gonna land on...a kid?" said a small voice.

The voice belonged to a young looking, pink haired girl seemly the same age as Negi, with two small pigtails on the side of her head. Next to her was a similarly looking girl except that her hair was in two buns on the side of her head. The one with pigtails looked disappointed and the other one looked sorry.

"What's a kid doing here?" said another person.

Negi looked to the side to see a older looking girl. She had brown hair tied to the side of her head. He remembered her from the small glance at the portfolio. Seat number 2 Akashi Yuna.

"You know him Ku-chan?" said a girl Negi did not recognize.

"Yeah! He was that boy I helped this morning" she said.

Negi sweatdropped when she said "helped". She nearly made him sick to his stomach, drop him off a moving train, and made him wander around an unfamiliar place for nearly an hour. "Help" was NOT the word to describe what she did.

"He looks so...CUTE" cried a blonde haired girl.

"Aww, is he your son Shizuna-sensei?" cried three other girls, one of who he recognized as seat number 7, Kakizaki Misa, as half the class suddenly engulfed him in hugs.

"Whaaaa?!" cried Negi as he suddenly disappeared from view.

"No no, this child is your new homeroom teacher and English teacher" Shizuna pointed out to the amazement of the class.

"WHAT?! B-B-BUT WHAT ABOUT TAKAHATA-SENSEI?!" came a shout near the back of the room.

"I'm sorry Asuna-kun, Negi-kun will be your new teacher" came a voice outside the window.

"T-Takahata-sensei! You know him?" cried Asuna.

"Yes, he's a good friend of mine. Could you girl please get off him. I think he's running out of air" laughed Takahata.

The students all got off of him and returned to their seats at his command. He winked as Negi approached the podium to start the day's learning.

* * *

_**End of the Day**_

"**The boy and the dog played fetch.**" read Negi as he looked in a small English book.

Negi's first day of teaching...was NOT fun. The class paid attention for about 5 minutes before they start doing something else. Somehow when he wasn't looking, there was strip poker game going on behind him and when he turned around half the room was naked. Asuna, the violent girl from earlier, and Ayaka, the strange blonde from earlier, constantly had fights which he could not prevent. It was utter chaos. If Shizuna, Ku Fei, and Kaede hadn't tried to help him that day, he probably wouldn't have made it. He ended the class period with a short announcement.

"Umm, class. I am glad to have been able to teach you today and I hope I can continue teaching you for the rest of the semester" he announced just as the bell rang.

The students started leaving at different intervals. Ku Fei and Kaede came up to him as the rest left.

"Good job-de gozaru. The class can be a bit rowdy" Kaede commented.

"Aiyah, I think someone ran off with my panties!" cried Ku Fei, an unfortunate victim of the poker game.

"Ahh, that you for your help Kaede-san, Ku Fei-san, Shizuna-sensei" Negi thanked them.

"I'll send the report to the dean in a minute. I must say, you did better then I thought you would" Shizuna giggled as she left the room before turning back "Ahh, you should go to the dean's office. He still needs to arrange where you will be staying at"

"We'll go with you-aru" Ku Fei said as Kaede nodded.

The three of them walked back to the dean's office, chatting a bit. They reached the doorway and opened it up to see the dean and seat number 13 Konoe Konoka. She waved at her new teacher as the three of them walked in.

"Hello Dean Konoe-san, Konoka-san. I was surprised that you were his granddaughter" Negi said to Konoka.

"Hi Negi-kun! The class was fun today" she said.

"Ahh, Negi-kun, I heard from my granddaughter that you did a good job today" Dean Konoe said.

"Ahh, It was alot harder then I thought. The class was constantly getting into trouble" Negi whined.

"Sorry-aruyo" Ku Fei said, knocking her head.

"Hehe, Asuna is always rowdy" Konoka says.

"That's why I said that class was challenging. But you did well, now I need to find a place for you to stay...How's about with my granddaughter Konoka and her roommate?" asks Dean Konoe

"Who's her roommate"

"It's Asuna" Konoka answers with a smile.

Negi face told the whole story. He did NOT want to stay with her. The other laughed at his expression. The Dean chuckled slightly before looking through his list.

"Ahh...I'm afraid there are no open spots left Negi-kun. Can you stay in an apartment until we get you a room?"

"Ah! He can stay with me-aru" Ku Fei spoke up.

"Hmm...Ku Fei-san huh? Aren't you in a room with Saotome-san **(Haruna for those who don't know)**?"

"She always sleeps over with Baka Leader and Honya-chan" she replied.

"Really? Well Negi-kun? What do you say?"

"Ummmmm" was all Negi could say at the moment.

Negi remembers everything that happened since he met her...and none of them were very pretty. But she had her heart in the right place. She was kind and strong but her mind just seems to be in the wrong place. Other then that, she did try helping him alot. She DID help him get to the school, and she DID try to help him in class...sorta.

_"She isn't too bad I guess. A little bit crazy, but she's nice"_ Negi though in his mind. **(Authors Note: Italics are usually thoughts)**

"Ok, I would like to stay with Ku Fei-san" he answered.

"Yay, I get me a roommate! Let's have lots of fun-aruka" Ku Fei cheered as she grabbed him and ran out of the room.

Kaede and Konoka followed them as the dean chuckled.

"Good luck Negi-kun" he said to himself.

_**At Ku Fei's room**_

"And this is my training post. I use it to practice my kenpo. That's my set of weights and there's Haruna's painting station although she usually carries a sketchpad with her" Ku Fei pointed out stuff inside their room.

"Wow, it's so different from my room with Asuna. There's no weights or anything like this in there" Konoka said as she tried to pick up a dumbbell with obvious strain.

"Nin-nin! Setsuna-dono and I share a room. There is a whole set of swords in there, along with my equipment" Kaede says as she examines some of Haruna's sketches.

"Where will I sleep anyway?" Negi asks as he noticed the bunk-bed was only for two people.

"Ahh...I hadn't thought of that" Ku Fei says with a blank expression.

Kaede, Konoka, and Negi all sweatdropped at this. Ku Fei started looking through the mess of things.

"Ahh, Negi-bouzu, why don't you take a walk or something. I'll find you something you can sleep on-aruka" she says.

"I need to go check up on Asuna. See you tomorrow Negi-kun" Knoka says as she leaves the room.

"I think I should help Ku-dono look for something for you to sleep on" Kaede says as she sifts through the junk in the room.

Negi had nothing better to do so he decides to take a walk like Ku Fei said. He took a stroll trough a different plaza from that morning and sat down near a fountain. He pulled out the portfolio of the class he was teaching.

"Hmm..."

He took out a pen and started writing little messages next to people's pictures. Konoka: Silly and Fun, Kaede: Very Kind, and Ku Fei: Crazy but Nice. He made three friends on his first day. He hoped that he can get to know everyone in his class better. He put away his pen and the portfolio and gazed at the sky. It was twilight and they sky was painted in a multitude of colors. Tinge of red and orange yet slightly pink. Truly a beautiful sight. As he continued gazing up, he noticed a person walking towards a set of stairs. She looked familiar, her hair covering her eyes.

"Ah, that's Miyazaki-san **(Nodoka)**"

Nodoka was headed for the stairs leading into the plaza. Negi wondered if he should say hello. She was walking dangerously close tot he edge when suddenly an Autumn gust blew Nodoka right off the steps. Negi didn't think, he just acted on instinct. He had forgotten his staff in Ku Fei's room so he pulled out his emergency wand that he always kept alongside him. With a flash of light, he cast wind magic to halt Nodoka's descent. He ran as she was being lowered and jumped just in time to catch her. Nodoka seemed to have fainted mid-fall but other then that was alright.

"That was close. Who knows what could have happened" Negi said aloud.

"NEGI-BOUZU!" came a yell.

Negi looked up, seeing Ku Fei in front of him. He immediately panicked in his mind. Had she seen him? Had he been found out already? Only one thing to do...

"K-Ku Fei-san...w-what did you just see?" he stammered out, afraid of the answer.

"That's was amazing Negi-bouzu! You caught her! I was looking for you when I suddenly saw and flash of light-aru. I ran over and saw you jump to catch Honya-chan! Did she fall down the stairs or something-aruka?" Ku Fei praised him.

Negi visibly relaxed. She hadn't seen him! He felt incredibly lucky at that moment. He did NOT want to erase her memories...mainly because if he did, she might become even more dim-witted then she already was.

"Y-yeah, Miyazaki-san fell down the stairs. A gust of wind blew her off and I happened to be nearby" Negi explained.

A sudden groan alerted the two that their friend was waking up.

"N-Negi-sensei? Ku Fei-san? What happened?" Nodoka asked quietly.

"Negi-bouzu saved your life!" Ku Fei yelled.

"N-Negi-sensei?...WAH!" Nodoka yelled as she noticed she was still in Negi's arms.

"Miyazaki-san, should you get up? Are you hurt anywhere?" Negi inquired.

"N-no, I'm fine. Th-thank you very much Negi-sensei" she stammered before running off.

"M-Miyazaki-san!" yelled Negi, but it was too late. She was already gone.

Negi turned to Ku Fei who was staring at him kinda funny.

"Negi-bouzu, I think you have what it takes to be a strong fighter! You must have acted fast to catch Honya-chan-aruyo!" she praised.

Negi didn't get to respond before she spoke again.

"No more questions! As of today, you will be my apprentice! You will now address me as Ku-Master-aru" she said.

"WHA?!" yelled Negi "I don't wanna learn Kenpo!"

"Too late! You are my apprentice and I'm not taking "no" for an answer! Now let's go back to my room! You need rest because tomorrow I'm going to work you to the bone!" she yelled as she grabbed him by his collar and dragged him off.

"Ahhh! Noooooooo!" wailed Negi as he was dragged along.

* * *

**Me: Well, there is chapter 1! I bet you all expected Nodoka to carry books or something. Well guess again. Ku Fei didn't learn about magic! But now he's stuck learning Kenpo! How long will it be before Ku Fei learns his secret? Will Ku Fei even find out? Will it be another person? Guess you all gotta wait for the next chapter!  
**

**Negi: NOOOO! I don't wanna learn Kenpo yet! I'm not supposed to learn now!**

**Me: You will learn it and like it!**

**Negi: WHAAAAAAAAA!**

**Me: Don't forget to comment on the story! Read and Review please!**


	2. II Lovin' the Afterlife

**Me: Hello folks. Welcome back to "Negima FEI!". I hope you all enjoyed the story so far (takes a bow) and here I am with Chapter 2! Special thanks to "Meloncolygeneral23" for being my first reviewer! Thank you man, seriously appreciate that. (Goes right up to your face) No, seriously, I REALLY appreciated it. (Thought no one was gonna review)**

**Ku Fei: Hurry hurry! I want to train Negi-bouzu!**

**Negi: Waaaah! We're like...50 chapters early compared to the manga!**

**Me: (Demonic Voice) I AM YOUR MASTER IN THIS FANFIC! YOU OBEY ME! YOU WILL LEARN KENPO DAMMIT!**

**Kaede: You're scaring a 10 year old TS**

**Me: Ahh, (coughs) right. Well then...Zazie! Say the disclaimer!**

**Zazie: ...**

**Everyone: ...**

**Me: Can someone translate that?**

**Ayaka: Zazie-san says that "TS does not own Mahou Sensei Negima. Please enjoy the show"**

**Everybody: (Claps for Ayaka) That's Iincho for you...**

* * *

Kaede let out a sigh. She watched as others started fidgeting around. The "Welcome Negi-sensei" party was ready but Negi still hadn't arrived. After Ku Fei and her had found something for Negi to sleep on, they left the room to find him but instead ran into their friend Makie or, in their case, Baka Pink. She told them about the party and they had helped set it up. Takahata had asked Ku Fei to get Negi but that was about 15 minutes ago and neither Ku Fei or Negi were in sight. She noticed that Ayaka had just gotten up.

"Where are you going Iincho-dono?" she asks the Class Rep.

"I'm going to find Ku Fei-san. She should have been back with Negi-sensei ages ago!" she responded back.

"I think I shall join you Iincho-dono. I'm a little worried that Ku Fei-dono might have gotten lost with Negi-sensei...again-de gozaru"

"What!? She got lost with him before!? Who's the idiot that told Ku Fei-san to get Negi-sensei" she yelled.

"I would be that "Idiot" Iincho-san" Takahata said, raising his hand.

"Oh! I'm so sorry Takahata-sensei! I was just a little stressed out!" Ayaka says, covering her mouth and as she realized who she just called an "Idiot".

"No, it's alright. I should have known better when I was the one who found them this morning. Can you and Kaede-san go find Negi-kun and Ku Fei-san?" he asks.

"Yes, sensei" Ayaka says as she leaves the room.

"Yes, sir-de gozaru" says Kaede as she follows the blonde woman.

The two searched...and searched...and searched...and finally stopped after about 20 minutes. They stopped to rest at the plaza Negi and Ku Fei were at earlier.

"We checked nearly everywhere that Ku Fei-san would normally be" Ayaka sighed.

"Have you tried looking in the dorms?" came a voice above them.

"Ahh, Makie-dono...and Zazie-dono. You got sent to look for us I guess?" Kaede asks.

"...Yes..." responded Zazie in her usual, "answer in a few words or don't answer at all" speech.

"Why the dorms Makie-san?" Ayaka questions.

"Well I just thought that even if Ku Fei had gotten lost, Negi-kun would at least know where the dorms were" Makie said rubbing her head.

Ayaka, Kaede, and Zazie (mainly Ayaka and Kaede) were slightly surprised at Makie's sudden insight. Ayaka grabbed Makie by the collar of her shirt as they all headed for the dorm rooms. Kaede pointed to the way to Ku Fei and Negi's room. As they got there, they noticed the a light under the door and chatting. They stopped at listened at the door for a moment. They heard two voices which definitely sounded like Negi and Ku Fei.

"No, no, no-aru. You need to go from this position to this position by putting this inside" come the voice of Ku Fei.

"Awaaah, but it feels weird if I put it there" cries Negi.

"You will get used to it" she replies.

"Ahh, your right. I'm starting to get used to it" he says.

"Now move foward like this...then back like this" she explains.

Outside, the party was wide eyed. The Class Rep. was getting angrier with every line. Finally she busted the door down.

"WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?!" she yelled as she ran into the room.

"Eh?" said Negi in a Kenpo position with Ku Fei showing him the steps.

Ayaka and Makie both hit the ground as Kaede and Zazie walked into the room.

"Ahh, Kaede! Makie! I'm teaching Negi-bouzu Kenpo!" she cheered.

"IT SURE DIDN'T SOUND LIKE IT!" yelled both Makie and Ayaka, tears streaming from their eyes as they got off the floor.

"Then what did it sound like?" responded both Negi and Ku Fei, both with clueless expressions.

"...Too young..." Zazie responded.

"Eeeh. Be good children and never ask that again-de gozaru" Kaede said with a rather large sweatdrop on the back of her head.

"Anyway Negi-kun, come on! We have to show you something" Makie said as she grabbed Negi's arm and started pulling him with her.

"M-Makie-san! How dare you hold onto his arm like that!" yelled Ayaka as she ran after them.

"Where are we going-aruka?" Ku Fei asks.

"Ku Fei-dono..." Kaede says exasperated.

Ayaka, Makie, Ku Fei, Kaede, Zazie, and Negi all ran to the classroom. Makie pushed Negi inside as everyone in the class jumped out (except Asuna who was crouching near Takahata and was slowly trying to inch her hand toward his).

"SURPRISE! (A small "dammit" from Asuna as Takahata got up too)"

Negi jumped as they all popped up. It was a large party with a giant "WELCOME NEGI-SENSEI" banner hung on the wall. All of his students were there with Takahata and even Shizuna. He saw fruit punch and food on the table to the left of the room near the cheerleaders. There were even a few gifts on a 2nd table.

"Oh yea! I forgot there was a party-aruyo" Ku Fei admits as she knocks her head.

"W-when did you come up with this?" Negi asks as he takes a look at the food on the table.

"We felt that we caused you a lot of trouble today and we're sorry. We are really glad to have you as our teacher Negi-sensei" said Yuna as she handed him some punch.

Negi drank it as he started chatting amiably with many of the other students. He talked a to the cheerleaders who invited him to sing some karaoke which he turned down. He spoke with Asakura who asked him if he wanted to learn reporting which he also turned down. The Narutaki twins and him tried busting the pinata but it was being pulled up Akira. She was tall and they couldn't reach the pinata when she pulled it up. Ku Fei even found the panties she lost that morning, much to Negi's embarrassment since it was somehow inside his podium (courtesy of the twins). After about an hour, the party started winding down.

"M-Mana-san...I...I can barely carry this one! Where did you get an antique cannon from?" said a strained Negi as he opened his gift from Mana.

"I have a large collection of projectile weaponry" she responded calmly.

"How did you know I collect antiques?" he asked as he put the small but heavy antique cannon down.

She pointed to Asakura.

"Ahh. She's really good at her job" he said with a sweatdrop on his head.

"Ok everyone, I think it's about time you wrap this all up" Takahata announced to the class.

There was a chorus of "Yes Takahata-sensei" throughout the class. In about 10 minutes, the room was back to looking like a normal classroom and people started departing. Negi waved goodbye as people left.

"See you tomorrow Negi-kun" said Makie as she left.

"Let's have fun again soon" Konoka said as walked out.

"Hmph. I still don't accept you as our teacher" Asuna said as she followed Konoka.

Negi waited until he was the last person left, aside from Ku Fei who was waiting for him. He asked her to wait in the hall so he could go turn out the lights in the room. As he headed for the light switch on the opposite wall, he distinctly heard a sound like a sigh.

"H-Hello? Is anyone else in here?" he said aloud nervously.

Negi could have sworn he heard a gasp. He looked around for a minute before shutting out the lights. He opened the door and took one last look behind his back before joining Ku Fei in the hallway but right as he was leaving the room, he caught the words "Good-bye". He quickly spun around to Ku Fei's confusion and tried to find what caused the sound.

"What are you doing Negi-bouzu? We need to get you back to training-aruyo" Ku Fei said with a small whine.

"Ahh...I-It's nothing. Let's go Ku Fei-san" he said as he shrugged off the "Good-bye" as the wind.

"Great, I want you to wear these steel boots! They weight about 150 pounds each-aruyo! I want you to run around the dorm 10 times before going to sleep. I'll be watching you" she said as she pulled a pair of steel boots from out of nowhere.

"WAAAAAAAAH?!" Negi yelled.

Negi could have sworn he heard someone go "Oh my god" but shrugged it off. Ku Fei and Negi left the school building, Negi struggling to walk. The headed for the dorms as Ku Fei shot orders for Negi to follow.

_**Back at the school**_

Sayo looked around sadly as Negi walked away. No one sees her and no one usually hears her as well. Tonight was the first night she found someone who could hear her.

"Negi-sensei..." she said, a tone of hope in her voice.

A suddenly creaking sound made her jump. She quickly looked around the room. She sighed with relief since there was nothing there. She turned back around to come face to face with Zazie Rainyday.

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" she screamed as she tried to run out of the room but tripped despite having no feet.

"...Forgot Book..." Zazie said to no one in particular, he usual stolid expression plastered on her face.

Sayo sighed as she got back up. For a minute she thought Zazie could see her. The exotic girl left and Sayo was left alone once more.

"...Ahhh...It's quiet again" she said to herself as tears started streaming down her face.

_**The Next Day**_

"Negi-bouzu! Wake up!" Came the loud cry of one Chinese martial artist.

Negi awoke with a jolt, looking around.

"Huh? Wha? OW!" he said, grabbing his aching legs which were KILLING him after running around the dorm 10 times with 150 pounds on each leg last night.

"Today I need to teach you to dodge-aruyo! Then work on your speed, then power, then blocking, then stances, then..." started Ku Fei as she ranted on about what they were to do.

"Ku-Ku Fei-san! You still have school! We can't do all that!" Negi yelled.

"Of course you can-aru. You will work the whole day in this!" she said as she pulled out one of his suits.

"I always wear one of those" Negi said.

Ku Fei opened up the suit for him to see that tiny pins and needles were attached to every inch of the suit. Then she put it on a scale which promptly read over 300 pounds.

"EEEEEEEEHHHH?! THAT'S GONNA KILL ME!" Negi yelled.

"This will work on your endurance and speed-aruyo!" she smiled as she pounced on Negi to force the suit on him.

"Ahh! Negi-bouzu! Good Mor-" started Kaede as she walked in but stopped when she saw what appeared to be Ku Fei on top on Negi trying to strip him "...Please take your time-de gozaru" she finished as she tried to walk back out while bowing.

"AHHH! KAEDE-SAN! HELP MEEEEEE!" screamed Negi as she closed the door on him.

_**5 minutes later**_

"It huuuuuuurts! The pins are stabbing me! Ow! Ow! Ow! I can barely lift my arms either!" Negi complained as they walked.

"Don't worry Negi-bouzu! This really will help your endurance and speed-aruyo" Ku Fei said to her apprentice.

"Did you use this method-de gozaru?" Kaede questioned.

"Nope. I read it in a manga" she said with a blank expression.

Kaede sweatdropped as she watched Negi try to walk. He was lucky she only did the top half of his usual outfit. Negi was too busy trying to ignore the pain to listen. Kaede was impressed that he was even wearing the shirt. She heard he didn't want to learn Kenpo at first but he still seems to be going with it. She was confused as to why though.

"Negi-bouzu. I thought you said you didn't want to learn Kenpo. Why are you wearing that shirt-de gozaru?" she asks the fumbling teacher.

"Huh? Oh well..." he started while blushing which quickly disappeared as he felt some more needles poke into him "(Ow)I didn't at first but after starting, it was kind (Ow) of fun. I also didn't want to disappoint Ku Fei-san since (Ow) she seems to have such confidence in me. I do admit, she also (Ow) makes for a good instructor. Has she taught someone (Ow) Kenpo before Kaede-san?"

"Nope. You're the first person I've ever seen train under her. I didn't even know she took pupils" she said.

"R-Really? (Ow) I'm her first one? She was be naturally (Ow) gifted at teaching" he says.

Kaede looked over at Ku Fei who was walking along, oblivious to their mutterings about her. At least she appeared to be until Kaede noticed she was actually busy devouring Chao Bao Zi's Nikuman Special. Kaede sweatdropped once more.

"_This is a naturally gifted teacher-de gozaru?_" she though inside her own mind.

"Ahh! Negi-kun! Kaede-san! Ku Fei-san!" came a voice to their right.

The group turned around...well Kaede and Negi turned around while Kaede pulled Ku Fei back before she walked off again. Konoka and Asuna were running up to them. Well, more like Konoka was running and Asuna was being dragged along. She took a short breathe before greeting them.

"Good morning everyone" Konoka said joyously.

"Mornin" Asuna said lowly.

"Good morning Konoka-dono. Asuna-dono" Kaede greeted.

"Ah, hi Konoka-san. (Ow) Asuna-san" Negi said, receiving a "Humph" from the latter.

"Wi Korofa-fwan, Atuna-fwan (Hi Konoka-san, Asuna-san)" mumbled Ku Fei through her mouth full of buns.

"Negi-kun, are you alright. You look like you're in pain...and you're walking really slowly. You can run just as fast as Asuna-san normally" Konoka asked worried.

"Ku Fei-dono altered his top coat. It now weighs 300 pounds and has a small little needle at every quarter inch-de gozaru" Kaede said.

"K-Ku Fei-san, isn't that going a little TOO far" Konoka said while poking Negi's shirt with a large sweatdrop on her head.

They chatted with each other for a while as the slowly headed to class. They reached the classroom after a short while. Negi entered the room slowly, not noticing that Kaede just caught a blackboard eraser that nearly fell on his head. He walked up to his podium as everyone else went to their seat. He took each one into account, other then the usually missing Evangeline A.K. McDowell who he noticed never showed up once, there were the other 30 students...wait...30?! Negi took one look again.

_"Wah?! 1...2...3...27...28...29. I could have sworn I saw thir-OW! That needle poked by bellybutton!" _Negi thought as he took a head count without moving too much.

He stopped thinking about it as the bell rung.

"A-All stand!" came a voice behind Negi who turned around to see Nodoka speaking and the class standing "B-Bow"

"GOOD MORNING NEGI-SENSEI" came a chorus of the whole class.

"Ahh, haa, g-good morning" Negi said as he clumsily tried to bowed in his death suit.

"Take your seats" Nodoka finished as everyone sat back down.

"Ah, yes. Now would everyone please turn to page 12?" Negi said as he started his class for the day "Now can I get someone to read?"

Negi looked around moving only his neck. The Narutaki twins? They suddenly looked away from him. Mana or Zazie? Negi could have sworn he saw a different gun from the one Mana was holding pop up. Ako or Akira? Both suddenly very fascinated with their desks. Iincho? She looked enthusiastic...but maybe a little TOO enthusiastic. Asakura or Sayo? Negi caught himself there. He could have sworn he saw a person near Asakura (Who by the way was suddenly entranced with looking through her camera lens outside the window). He stared at the spot for a minute before having the feeling of someone looking at him. He turned around to the direction the feeling was coming from. Zazie looked away after he turned around. He shrugged it off as her not wanted to read as well. He needed to get to his lesson so he walked back to his podium and took out his class portfolio. He took out a penny and flipped it then. The class watched with anticipation and dread.

_"Crap, he's going to call it randomly? Not me, not me" _thought Makie.

_"My love will make sure it picks me! Then I shall astound him with my wonderful skills. We will fall madly in love! He will pick me up and we will ride off into the sunset! Hohohoho!" _Ayaka daydreamed in her head.

_"Ahh, great lord in the sky. Please make sure it's not me" _Misora said with her cross in her hand.

The penny finally landed on a person.

"Oh, will you please read...huh...That person isn't here" Negi says as he looks at the picture.

Seat#1 Sayo Aisaka. Now that Negi thinks about it...where has he seen this person before. As he thought that, he felt a sudden chill down his spine. It felt like something was over him but he didn't see anything. The feeling went away as suddenly as it came but he could have sworn he heard a sad voice say "Oh...". These mysterious voices have been popping up alot recently. He should probably investigate but first...

"Makie-san, please read" he says after flipping the coin again.

"EEEEEHHHH?!" she cries.

_**After class**_

All the other students had left. He was supposed to meet with Ku Fei in about half an hour. He had kind of gotten used to the needle suit. It really showed him how to do things with the least amount of movement. He slowly prepared to leave but a sudden chill swept over him again. Sayo was trying to hang onto his back although Negi can't tell.

_"Ah, please don't go yet"_ she said.

Negi stopped. It was faint. Extremely faint. The same voice he's been hearing since yesterday. He could just barely hear it. He spun around, looking for where it came from. This time he knows it's gotta be real.

"W-who's there?" he said aloud.

_"You can hear me?"_ Sayo asked with hope.

It was still faint but if Negi put a little bit of magic to improve his hearing, he could hear it a little bit. He just barely caught the question.

"Y-yes. I can hear you, but only a little" he said, his fear dissipating "Who are you? Where are you? Why are you talking in my head?"

_"You can hear me! I'm so glad! I-I'm Sayo Aisaka"_ the ghost said cheerily.

"Sayo...AH! You're that girl on my roster!" Negi gasped.

_"Yes, I am"_

"Where are you"

_"I'm right next to you"_

"I don't see anyone"

_"I'm a ghost"_

"G-g-ghost?!" He said as he jumped away "YOWCH! Augh! I think the needles is stuck! Ow Ow Ow!"

"_Negi-sensei! Are you okay?_" Sayo asked concerned.

"Ouch. It's out. I'm surprised my shirt hasn't got bloodstains everywhere" Negi said.

Suddenly a bigger chill then before spread throughout his body. It mainly came from his stomach area.

_"There is blood everywhere in your shirt"_ Sayo said as she passed through him.

Negi fell on the floor shivering, his body suddenly so numb with cold that the needles didn't even hurt him. Sayo gasped.

_"Ahh! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I won't go through you again!"_ she wailed.

"I-It's a-al-alright S-S-Sayo-sa-san" Negi said through his chattering teeth.

_"I'm causing you nothing but trouble. Even though I just wanted to be your friend...even though...even though..."_ she cried.

Whether it was due to her flood of emotions or Negi using a little magic to warm his body up, Negi could see a faint shadowy figure of a girl. Before he could say anything, she flew away crying.

"S-SAYO-SAN!" Negi yelled as he ran after her.

Sayo did not hear him as she tried to get away. She was really depressed. That was the only person she knew who could hear her and all she could do was hurt him...or chill him to death. She started flying higher above the school. She was lucky no one could see her since seeing a flying girl would kinda freak people out. The was already starting to set, she had been talking to Negi for nearly an hour. No one was around so she flew to the roof. Meanwhile Negi could just barely see her. He saw her fly up onto the roof of the large gym. He couldn't get up there since the Gym was locked after practice was over. The only way he could get up there was if he could fly...which he can but then Sayo would know he was a mage.

"Wait...if she's a ghost...that means she isn't a living person...which means even if she saw me using magic, she can't really tell anyone about it" Negi said to himself.

Negi took off the top half of his suit, revealing a blood red undershirt (_"It was white this morning"_ Negi thought), since it would weigh him down. He felt amazingly light as it came off. He even tried to jump a couple times. He could jump nearly twice as high as he could before. He laughed a little until he remembered why he took it off in the first place. Closing his eyes, he envisioned his staff. It was in his room but Ku Fei and Kaede were there...which makes him remember he was supposed to meet up with his own teacher half an hour ago. He can't get his staff. He sighed, looks like he'll have to use the small wand. It can carry about as much weight as his staff but he would have to dangle from it with one hand.

"Guess I have no choice. **Ras Tel Ma Scir Magister**" he chanted.

Without warning, he suddenly shot up into the air. No one was around so it was safe. Sayo looked at the empty area sadly and sighed. Maybe she'll go haunt the art room instead.

"Sayo-san" came a gentle voice behind her.

She turned around to see the most amazing...and strangest sight ever. Negi was flying...err...hanging on a small little wand. She was speechless as he landed on the rooftop.

"Hello Sayo-san. I can see you alot better then before" he says.

"Negi-sensei...did you just fly?" she asked in wondering, ignoring the fact he can see her.

"Uhh, wha...Y-yes. I did" he said with his hand behind his head.

"How did you do that?" she asked, still amazed.

"I'm actually a mage, please keep it a secret. I could get turned into an ermine if anyone found out" he said with his index finger over his mouth is a "Shhh" gesture.

"Mage? Like magic?"

"Yes...were you lonely? Being a ghost and all?" he asked.

She gasped tearing up slightly. She nodded her head slowly.

"Ok then. I'll be your friend. Come here" he said as he held out his hand smiling.

With the setting sun behind his back bathing him in the orange twilight, he did not look like a 10 year old. With a blush, she grabbed his hand, which he used magic to allow her to touch.

_**Back at Ku Fei's room**_

"Ahhh! Where is he-aru? It seems alot quieter without him" Ku Fei whined.

"He's really grown on you hasn't he-de gozaru" Kaede said with a chuckle.

The door swung open as Negi walked in, his needle shirt back on.

"I'm ho-err I mean I'm back!" Negi said cheerfully.

"Negi-bouzu! Where were you-aru? You were supposed to meet me over an hour ago" Ku Fei whined again.

"I'm sorry, I had some business to take care of" he said.

Sayo had gone back to the school since the dorms were out of her range. She couldn't go that far.

"Are you done with everything?" Kaede asked.

"Yes Kaede-san" he answered.

"Great! Time for you to...WHA?! Negi-bouzu, you smell horrible-aruyo! Like blood and sweat!" Ku Fei said as she covered her nose.

"Wow, you really do-de gozaru" Kaede said as she caught a whiff.

"We're taking you to the bathhouse-aru!" Ku Fei said.

"Awww, do I have toooo?" Negi whined, his 10 year old side showing.

"Ahh, so Negi-kun doesn't like baths huh?" came a voice from the doorway.

"Konoka-dono, how long were you standing there?" Kaede asked, surprised she didn't notice sooner.

"You left your door open. I was coming to give Negi this" she said as she pulled out a bunch of clothes "He's always wearing a suit so I bought him some casual clothes"

"Ahh, thank you Konoka-san" Negi said as he took the clothes.

"No time for chatter. We need to give you a bath!" Konoka said, her maternal instincts kicking in as she grabbed Negi and ran for the bathhouse.

Ku Fei and Kaede followed the happy-go-lucky girl and their teacher.

_**At the bathhouse**_

"Woooooow!" gaped Negi as he saw the large bathhouse.

The place looked more like a tropical paradise except it's indoors and had tiles.

"This is the pride of the Mahora Dorms. Our bathhouse, guaranteed to hold over 200 girls at once" Konoka explained.

"CANNONBALL-ARUYOOOO!" yelled Ku Fei and she ran, completely naked and jumped into the pool.

"I give it a 7/10-de gozaru" she said as she pulled a card from nowhere.

"Whaa!" yelled Negi as he covered his eyes from the two naked girls in front of him.

_"When did they even take their clothes off?!" _he thought.

"Ok Negi, you can go into the changing room over there or let me strip you" Konoka said, looking kind of dangerous as her face was shadowed and her eyes were just two twinkling lights.

Negi ran full speed into the changing room. A minute later he came back out in swim trunks and bloodstains all over his body.

"WHA?! Ku Fei-san! You really did go too far this morning" Konoka yelled, tears streaming out of her eyes.

"It's ok Konoka-san. They were all small pricks and are already healed" Negi said.

"Great, time to go in the water" Kaede said as she jumped in.

Negi covered his eyes as she jumped in. When he opened them again, Konoka was already in the water as well. Negi suddenly remembered one important fact...

"Wait, you want me to go in there with all of you?!" he yelled.

"Come on in Negi-bouzu! The water's fine-aru!" Ku Fei yelled.

"A-as an English Gentleman, I have to give ladies their privacy when they take a ba-WHAAAAAA" he started before Ku Fei ran towards him and threw him into the pool-like tub.

"GET HIM-ARUYO!" she yelled as Kaede, Konoka, and herself grabbed Negi.

As they started scrubbing him, chattering could be heard. The bathhouse doors opened and in walked the whole entire 2-A class. Iincho was the first to walk in and spotted what appeared to be Negi about to get gang raped. Her nose suddenly started bleeding as she lost consciousness. The rest ran inside.

"LOOK! IT'S NEGI-SENSEI!" yelled Fuka.

"Negi-sensei? He's in here!" yelled Fumika.

"He's going to take a bath with us? My my" Chizuru said as she slipped into the water.

"U-waaaaaah?! Help me!" Negi yelled as suddenly half the class started moles-err, grop- err, CLEANING him.

He tried to jump out of the water but was caught by Yuna who pulled him back in.

"IN-YAAAAH! Negi-sensei, where are you touching?!" screamed Misa as Negi was flung in her direction.

"Negi-sensei is ecchi!" yelled Yuna as Negi was flung back towards her and landed in her breasts.

Yuna tossed him over to the others. He landed on Asakura.

"Ahh, you like the big breasted types don't you Negi-sensei!" she squealed.

"Ahh, Negi-sensei! Don't touch there" yelled Iincho as she hugged him into her chest.

Negi was pulled in between Chizuru, Kaede, Asakura, and Haruna who all proceeded to squeeze his face into their own chests.

"I-I don't think Negi-sensei can breathe" Yue said over the ramble.

"Ahh! Negi-sensei lost consciousness!" Konoka yelled as she grabbed him, gurgling.

The class started laughing. Finally real chatting started popping up.

"Say, I just remembered, why is Negi-sensei staying in Ku Fei's room?" Ayaka asks suddenly.

Suddenly over half the class was at attention.

"He was staying with Ku-chan and Paru?" Chao asked.

"You didn't know? I thought Ku Fei-san tells you everything" Sakurako said.

"She only told me she has an apprentice now" Chao said shrugging.

"Why would Negi stay with Ku Fei-san? I am much more suited to be his guardian! Ku Fei-san is...(Turns to look at Ku Fei who has her usual blank expression like "The lights are on but no one is home" look)..."Ayaka says, her sentence trailing off as she stares at Ku Fei.

"What do you mean your better suited for Negi-kun" Makie said.

"Why, I have a great motherly figure. He needs proper upbringing!" she says aloud.

"U-upbringing?" Negi gulped as he was still being held down by the Narutaki twins.

"Ha! I'm better suited for it" Haruna spoke up.

"Paru, he ALREADY lives in your room" Asuna said.

"I haven't slept in there ever since coming to school" she said.

"You mean...he's been living with Ku Fei-san ALONE?!" gasped Madoka.

Half of the class joined in.

"That's not fair Ku Fei-san! How come you get Negi-kun all to yourself?" Makie yelled.

"Eh?" Ku Fei said as she backed away.

"Yeah! I want to keep him!" Misa said.

"Wha?" Ku Fei got out as she backed away a little more.

"What's Ku Fei-san got that we don't have?" Sakurako yelled out.

"Wait-aru! Negi chose to sleep in my room!" Ku Fei said as she covered her head.

"What?! I'm much better looking then Ku Fei-san" Ayaka said.

"Hey hey! what's that supposed to mean" Chao said.

"I have the body and mind to take care of Negi-sensei" Ayaka said arrogantly.

"If it's about the body, Kaede-nee is better then you" the Narutaki's said at once.

"Don't I get a say in this?!" Negi yelled but no one was listening as everyone backed up, each with fire burning behind them.

Almost as though a bell just rung, there was an all out fight over Negi. Shampoo was thrown, towels were unwrapped, and water was splashed. Negi was caught in the middle of it. All this trouble over where he stays. His 10 year old mind doesn't know why.

"S-stop! Stop!" Negi yelled but was knocked away until Ku Fei caught him.

"Be more careful apprentice" she said before laughing giddily and jumping back in the fight.

Negi watched her go. He suddenly noticed just how much he doesn't want to leave Ku Fei's room. She's really nice and watches out for him despite acting like she's an airhead (which is just Negi's thoughts. She is in fact an airhead). He had to help her. But how?! He can't use magic and even if he could his staff and spare want aren't with him. Some cold water splashed on him from afar. He ignored it until...

_"Cold? Cold...THAT'S IT! She must be around her somewhere"_ Negi thought.

"S-Sayo" he whispered so that no one else can here him.

_"Yes Negi-sensei"_ came a response right next to him.

"Uwah?! How long were you there?" he whispered.

_"Ever since the fight started"_ she answered.

"Good, I need you to fly through all of them. The cold should get their attention"

_"Yes Sensei"_

Sayo flew around for a second, apologized silently and flew. She zipped right through all of their stomachs. Instantly the fighting stopped.

"Eek!" screamed Natsumi.

"Ahh!" yelped Misora.

Many other let out a scream as they suddenly felt a numbing cold.

"W-what was that-de go-gozaru" Kaede shivered.

"It suddenly got really cold" Konoka said.

"I think you girls should get out of the baths. You probably didn't notice that it's gotten past 10 o clock" Negi appeared, eyes shut, fully clothed.

The girls all nodded, not liking the cold one bit. Negi winked at Sayo who was flying overhead. She put two thumbs up as a sign of "Good Job". The girls all left one by one until he left with Ku Fei, Kaede, Konoka, Asuna, and Sayo.

"Are you still cold Ku Fei-san?" Negi asked concerned.

"AH-CHOO! A little bit but I'm fine Negi-bouzu. You shouldn't worry about your master-aru" she said as she wiped her nose.

"Negi-kun ignored us. We were cold too" Konoka pouted slightly as she was talking to Kaede.

"I bet he doesn't even notice-de gozaru" she smiled.

"What are you two talking about" Asuna said.

"Nothing Asuna-san" Konoka said.

_**20 minutes later**_

"Good job-aru. You learned that stance quickly but I think it's sleep time" Ku Fei said as she yawned.

"R-right" Negi said as he stretched.

Ku Fei jumped onto the top half of her bunk bed as Negi laid out his futon on the floor.

"You can sleep on the bottom bunk. Paru is still sleeping with Baka leader and Honya-chan" Ku Fei said.

"No, I'm fine. Just in case she needs to come back" he said.

"Alright then. Good night-aru"

"Good night Ku Fei-san"

Ku Fei heard Negi shift in his futon and light breathing. She couldn't sleep for some reason. She didn't know why.

_"I know! I'll count! 1 Nikuman, 2 Nikuman, 3 Nikuman, 4 Nikuman...what came after 4?" _she thought.

A sudden sound like whimpering caught her attention. She looked down to see Negi get up.

"Negi-bouzu? Gotta use the bathroom-aru?" she asked.

Negi didn't say anything. He was still asleep. She wondered if he was sleepwalking.

"Onee-chan..." he mumbled softly as he suddenly started fumbling around in the dark.

"Wha? Onee-chan-aru?" she said aloud as she watched him move.

He suddenly turned in her direction and climb up the bunkbed.

"WHA?! Negi-bouzu! Hey-aruka!" she yelled as he climbed into her bed "Negi-bouzu! Negi-sensei! Negi! HEY!" she yelled trying to wake him up.

He suddenly clamped on to her in a strong grip. She turned as red as a tomato. She tried to push him off but, despite her strength, he stuck like super glue.

"N-Negi-bouzu! Wh-what are you doing aruka?!" she stammered, clearly uncomfortable with the contact.

"Mmm...Onee-chan..."he mumbled as he fell asleep on her lap.

Ku Fei stopped struggling. She had to admit, it was kinda cute. She's unused to getting hugged since most contact with her was usually a punch or a kick. The sudden source of heat made her drowsy.

"Awaaaah" She said drowsily "Fine...B-but only for tonight...zzzzzz"

She fell asleep with Negi still holding on to her.

* * *

**Me: Just so people know. When I write, I don't plan ANYTHING! So even though I'm writing all this, even I wonder what I'll type next. Sayo found out he was a mage! Wasn't that sweet though? Poor Negi, his training is getting harder. Poor Ku Fei, the class is getting jealous, of course we can see why. What will happen next? Join us in chapter 3! The Library Arc if finally beginning.**

**Sayo: Yay, I came out! I got ignored for over 50 chapters. TS brought me out early!**

**Negi: Now I've got a ghost for a friend! At least they can't turn me into an ermine for telling her. She's technically dead!**

**Me: Alright. That's chapter 2! Read and Review!**


	3. III Grapsing Friendship

**Me: Yo! How are ya folks? Thank you for your kind words. I thought Sayo was a great character and didn't deserve to be ignored for so long in the manga so I brought her in earlier. Isn't that great**

**Sayo: (flies around the screen giddily)**

**Me: Sayo! Sayoooo! Get down here!**

**Chachamaru: She appears to be too excited to listen to your words.**

**Me: Looks like I'll have to get another character to say the disclaimer...but who. Eeny...Meeny...Miney...Mana! please say the disclaimer.**

**Mana: TS does not own Mahou Sensei Negima.**

**Everybody: ENJOY CHAPTER 3!**

* * *

3 months have passed since the arrival of a certain kid teacher. Negi Springfield has been teaching class 2-A and is infamous throughout the school as the youngest teacher AND the only one to actually handle 2-A's rambunctiousness aside from "Death-Glasses" Takahata. Negi awoke that morning in a daze. It was Sunday and school was out. The lazy Sunday morning did not help much as he decided to stay in bed a little more. He snuggled the really soft pillow next to him, feeling the heat radiating off of it. He closed his eyes for about 4 seconds before something clicked in his mind.

_"Wait a minute...I sleep on a futon on the floor...I don't have a snuggling pillow...and pillows don't radiate heat!" _he thought as he looked up.

"Yaaaah...Niku...man-aru..." Ku Fei said as she drooled in her sleep.

"GAH!" Negi yelled as he jumped up, startling his sleeping master.

One more thing Negi forgot as he jumped...he was on the top part of a bunk bed. He tumbled off and landed with a crash on his face. Ku Fei, fighting the heavy blush, looked over the end to check to see if her pupil wasn't dead.

"Negi-kun? Are you alright-aruka?" Ku Fei called using the new honorific she stated using after the first month of living with him.

"M-M-Master Ku! I-I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to sleep in your bed again! It's a force of habit!" he yelled, waving his hands in from of him wildly as he tried to hide his red face.

"It's okay if you miss your Onee-chan-aru. I don't mind if it helps you feel better" she said with her usual blank expression, not knowing just what the consequences on her words would be.

"A-As a teacher, I cannot do that Master-Ku. It is my duty to teach you...not to snuggle you. It's indecent" he said the last part in a whisper.

That morning was kinda normal now. Although it does not happen ever night, Negi would occasionally sleep-walk and snuggle up to Ku Fei in the middle of the night. She wonders how he unconsciously finds her and and climbs up the bunk bed ladder without her ever noticing. Little does she know, nor Negi for that matter, is that while asleep, he unconsciously taps into his magic and uses a location spell combine with a silence spell. Negi walked over to the kitchen area of the room as he prepared to make breakfast. He found out a while back that Ku Fei could NOT cook to save her life. He took lessons from Satsuki despite her offer to make him and Ku Fei breakfast in the morning.

"Master-Ku, what do you want to eat? We have no Nikuman so don't ask" he asks her as she slipped into her usual Chinese outfit in the other room.

He heard a groan come from the other room. She obviously liked, no LOVED, Satsuki and Chao's food. He hard silence for a second before hearing her answer.

"How about Bacon and Eggs?" she said, picking an American favorite.

"Alright" he said as he started going through the fridge for the ingredients.

As Negi started cooking, a knocking came from the door. Ku Fei went to answer it. She opened the door to find...no one? She looked left, she looked right, she looked up and down in case Kaede was feeling playful. An imaginary question mark floated above her head as her face turned into it's usual blank expression. A small chill went down her spine which made her shiver and rub her arms. She closed the door.

"Who was it Master-Ku?" Negi asked.

"No one-aru. Must be Fuka and Fumika playing pranks again" she said with a shrug.

Negi knew what that meant. Sayo was in the room. As though on cue, he felt the familiar cold hands of his favorite poltergeist. She had been practicing her skills on touching live or inanimate objects ever since Negi became her friend. The hands wrapped around his stomach area as she gave him a ghostly hug. He learned to charge a little magic around the areas she touched to prevent him from suffering from her cold embraces.

"Hi Negi-sensei!" she smiled as she hung onto him.

"Good Morning Sayo-san" he whispered so that only she would hear.

"That smells good, I wish I could eat" she said as she floated near him, her index finger in her mouth in a cute pouting way.

"Sorry Sayo-san. So, what do you plan to do today?" he asked her.

"I'll watch you train as usual" she said happily.

"I-Is watching me train that entertaining?" he asked, oblivious to the ghost girl's affection for him.

Sayo nodded as she remembered all the times she had watched him.

_"Negi-sensei looks so cool when he does his martial arts" _she squealed in her own mind.

Sayo is practically Negi's number one fan. She hovered over him as he walked over to Ku Fei. She was waiting for him at the eating table.

"Here you go Master-Ku" Negi said as he handed her the breakfast he had made.

She took it and thanked him as she started eating it up. He started eating as well. Suddenly the door flung open as Konoka and Kaede walked into the room.

"Negi-kuuuun!" Konoka cried as she hugged him.

"K-K-Konoka-san" he cried as she hugged his windpipe.

"Oops" giggled the bubbly girl as she let go of him.

"Good Morning-de gozaru" Kaede said as she greeted her two friends.

"Hi!" Ku Fei said with a wave.

"Good morning Konoka-san, Kaede-san" Negi bowed then turned to Konoka "Asuna-san didn't come today?"

"I asked if she wanted to come but she said "You visit them every single day! Why don't you give it a rest" then went back to sleep. Someone must have annoyed her on her paper route" Konoka said she she did a really good impersonation of her orange-haired friend.

"Should we go cheer her up?" Negi asked.

"I don't think she would want to see you Negi-kun" Kaede responded as she knows quite well how Asuna was still a little bitter about Takahata.

Asuna's usually a kind person who wouldn't hold a grudge for too long but when it involved her crush of a teacher Takahata, she could stay angry for months. Kaede remembers the last time Ayaka set her off. Asuna didn't speak to her for nearly half a year which was a bad thing since Kaede actually paid for some of her ninja weapons with the money she got from betting on the fights between them.

_**After breakfast**_

"Well, I'm going to go shopping with Misa, Madoka, and Sakurako in town. Bye!" Konoka said with a wave as she ran off to join the cheerleaders.

"I'll be headed to the usual-de gozaru" Kaede said as she ran off.

"The usual?" Negi questioned.

"She goes training on Sundays" Ku Fei answered, knowing she shouldn't tell people that her friend practiced her ninja skills on the mountains.

"Well, what are we training in today Master Ku?" Negi asked.

"Actually my disciple, I need to speak with you about that-aruyo. You have been doing a great job for the last 3 months. You have become very good with your martial arts. You have learned techniques that took me a month to learn in a few hours-aru. _(Ahh, so unfair) _It is time for you to take the next step" Ku Fei explained to her apprentice.

Negi nodded nervously as Sayo hovered over listening to their conversation. She herself was a little excited at what Negi was to learn.

"At some point, you will face an opponent who you cannot face using only your bare hands-aruka. That is why today, you will be integrating your first weapon into your fighting style" she explained further.

Negi briefly wondered how she was suddenly smart when it came to fighting but dumb as a dumbbell in school.

"A...weapon? Like swords and stuff?" he asked.

"Yes. Every good martial artists can use at least 2 or 3 different weapons to their advantage. I have been trained to use any combat weapon myself. Today, you will choose your choice of a first weapon before I teach it to you" she said with a little something in her voice that sounded like pride.

Ku Fei had been training since childhood to learn many different styles of martial arts and to learn how to use many different weapons. Negi knew perfectly well that even if he had the same fighting styles and was able to fight his master evenly, if she could use a weapon, he would instantly be at a disadvantage. Bare fists versus something with an edge, he hasn't yet been taught to fight against such an opponent. He looked up as Ku Fei pushed a large rack towards him. It had a white blanket covering over it. Ku Fei pulled the blanket off to reveal an exquisite array of weaponry. Bow and Arrows, Swords, Spears, Nails, Gauntlets, Hammers, the works.

"Alright then, choose what weapon you wish to learn-aruyo" she said as he stared at each weapon.

Negi thought hard about which one he wanted.

_"What an amazing collection. Some of these look like they were from the past. Rare antiques! Is she actually gonna let me have one? Or is she only letting me train with them?" _he though, his love for artifacts such as those making his head spin.

Sayo hovered next to Negi as she watched him. She saw a funny gleam in his eye as he stared at the weapons. Almost as though he was resisting grabbing them all and running away.

"Negi-sensei. Which one are you going to choose?" she asked him.

"Huh? Choose? Oh right" he whispered blushing slightly.

He was inspecting them for their age and edge. I forgot he was supposed to pick one. After about 10 minutes he finally chose the weapon he wanted.

"Master Ku, I know which weapon I want to learn to use" Negi said as he got Ku Fei's attention who happened to have been chatting with a passing Chao.

"Oh, hello Negi-sensei-ne. Ku-chan is finally going to teach you to use a weapon?" Chao asks.

"Ahh, Chao-san! I didn't notice you there. I'm sorry" Negi apologized to the other Chinese girl.

"It's alright sensei" Chao said with her hands up.

"Do you use a weapon Chao-san?" Negi asks as he remembers that Chao also uses kenpo.

"Ah yes, I mainly you gauntlets but I can use a few other things as well" she explained.

"Which weapon will you use-aruyo?" Ku Fei asks.

Negi walked over to the large rank and grabs his weapon of choice. It was a beautifully crafted naginata. The blade at the top of the top of the spear was sharp and resembled the curve of a sword. The spear appeared more as a polearm then anything else. The fine edge of the top was held in a place by a jeweled hilt. The hilt was gold but the jewel on one side was a blood red Ruby while the other side contained a dark green Emerald. The long staff like handle Negi was holding was a shimmering crimson while the blunt end of the spear had a golden spike to allow it to be placed in the ground or to attack with. Ku Fei was intrigued by his choice. Chao, being the genius she was, found it kind of obvious why. If he learned to use a spear like that, he can use his staff better in battle. She eyed his staff on his back. The bottom could be used as a spear while the top (She looked back at the polearm's curved top) could be painful when swung. Also, theres a small chance he shose it because it had his dad's name on it. The NAGI-nata.

"I would like to learn to use a spear" Negi said aloud.

"Ahh, a spear is a very difficult weapon to learn-aruka. It takes true skill to wield it properly but if you can master it, you will become a force to be reckoned with-aru" Ku Fei said.

"Ahh...Ku-chan. I think I had better check up on Chachamaru. I'll leave you here to train with Negi-sensei" Chao said as she prepared to leave.

"Oh...alright then. Bye" Ku Fei said sounding a little disappointed.

"Be safe" Negi called.

"Alright then! Bye-ne" Chao said as she ran off.

_"Note to self. Install Chachamaru with anti-spear combat data" _she thought as she ran off.

Ku Fei had taken a different naginata off the rack. Negi's was actually one of a kind so she didn't have copies. It was strange but the reason Negi picked that spear was because it seemed to catch his attention the most. He shrugged it off.

"Ok! First lesson! When you use a spear, which two ways do you mainly use to attack with it-aruka?" Ku Fei asks.

"Umm...Stabbing and Swinging" he answered.

"Right, which one is stronger?" she questioned.

Negi thinks about it. Most spear styles contained mainly stabbing techniques and most types of spear had sharp points.

"Stabbing?" he says uncertainly.

"Wrong-arune. Swinging it the most dangerous! If you stab, you strike a point. If your opponent can see that point, they can easily dodge it-aru. When you swing, they have to get out of your way with no objections. If they scoot back too slowly, they get slashed. If they dodge to the side, they have to be fast enough to get out of the spear's range or still run the risk of getting sliced. If they try to go in and attack you, they will get hit by the pole. If they try to run, the spear can be thrown-arune. If they try to jump, you can spin it like a staff to strike in mid-air. That is why the spear is so deadly. To use a spear requires alot of skill, to dodge requires excessive speed-aruka" she explained.

Negi looks at the spear in his hand. He didn't expect it to be THAT powerful. He thought it was kind of light using his staff. It would be a little slow to use but with a little training he could learn to strike with it. He didn't expect it to be a basic death trap in a fight.

"Why are there so many stabbing techniques?" he asked.

"Stabbing is fast. Swinging is slow" was her simple answer.

"Ok I think I'm ready to train" Negi said as he got up.

Ku Fei dropped down into a stance as Negi mimed her movements. She showed him the proper way to hold it. She showed him the steps and how to strike.

_**3 hours later**_

"1000 more stabs" Ku fei said to the exhausted Negi.

"E-Eeeh? 1-1000 more?" he gasped.

Those were the toughest 3 hours of his life. He didn't think training with a weapon would be so hard. Boy was he wrong. If he was training with his fists, he didn't have to worry about the extra weight of his arms. The spear in his arm had to at least have been 5 or 6 pounds. When you're tired, that's a WHOLE lot of weight. He had to admit though, it was kind of fun. Sayo was asleep underneath a nearby tree. Negi thought it was ironic that she was resting so peacefully yet can't Rest In Peace. He almost wanted to draw on her face. But right now, he could barely move. He fell to the ground as Ku Fei ran over to him.

"Ahh, sorry Negi-kun. I guess I pushed you too hard-aru" she apologized.

"No no, it's not your fault. The spear seemed to feel like it was getting heavier and heavier as I trained" he said as he looked at the spear in his hand.

She took the spear as she helped Negi up.

"It's lunchtime anyway-aru. We can rest and eat" she said as she steered them away.

"NEGI-KUN! KU FEI-SAN!" Konoka called as she ran up to them.

"Konoka-san!" Negi greeted.

"Konoka" Ku Fei bowed before remembering Negi was hanging off her shoulder.

"Ah, Negi-kun! Are you okay?" she asked as she looked him over.

"Don't worry Konoka-san, I'm just a little tired (both Ku Fei and Negi's stomachs growl)...and hungry" he said embarrassed.

"I'll cook something up for you" Konoka said as they followed her.

Negi suddenly remembered something. He walked over to the tree, much to Konoka and Ku Fei's confusion, and woke up Sayo. From their point of view, it looked like he was looking for something. Sayo slowly awoke when Negi shook her a little using magic in his hand to allow him to touch her.

"Have a nice nap Sayo-san?" he said softly so the others wouldn't hear him.

She nodded her head as she yawned and rubbed her eyes. Negi chuckled a little bit to see that even though she's a ghost, for some reason her hair can still stick up after sleeping. Sending a little magic into his hands, he patted her head to keep her hair down. He didn't notice that Sayo was blushing like mad. He got up and walked over to Ku Fei and Konoka.

"Sorry, I thought I forgot something" he said.

The three (four) went to Konoka's room for a meal. They chatted with one another nicely until they reached Konoka's room. There was a loud crash as they reached the door. A second later, another crash was heard. Everyone ran into the room to see Asuna turning everything upside down. Everything possible was on the floor. They were amazed the floor was still there.

"WHERE ARE MY BELLS!!" she screamed loud enough for the whole dorm to hear.

Asuna's hair was down, reminding Negi of his Onee-chan, and she looked pretty damn mad. As he entered the room, her head whipped in his direction so fast, he was surprised her neck didn't break. Before he knew what was happening, he was in the air, held up by Asuna's hands on his collar.

"YOU! You have them don't you! First you take away Takahata-sensei, then you take by bells!" she yelled as she started shaking him back and forth.

"HEY! Let Negi-kun down-aruka!" Ku Fei yelled, much to everyone's surprise since she never seems to get mad at anything.

Even Asuna in her rage was slightly frightened. Ku Fei could kick her ass in no time flat. She heeded her warning and put him back down as Negi scrambled out of her reach.

"Don't go around blaming people's pupils for things they didn't do! He was with me the whole morning-aruyo" Ku Fei scolded.

Asuna was a little dumbstruck, as were the rest of the people as Ku Fei picked Negi off the floor and started dusting him off. The scene reminded them of an older sister scaring off bullies. Even Asuna felt a little bad about what she did.

"I-I'm sorry Ku Fei" she said.

"You shouldn't be apologizing to me" she responded back.

"Sorry Negi. It's just those bells were really important to me since Takahata-sensei gave them to me. Since you took his place I sorta vented my anger on you" she said bowing a little.

"So you do like Takamichi" he said, his fear gone and replaced with his "I'm an innocent 10 year old" blank expression.

Asuna knocked him on the head.

"Don't say it so bluntly you brat!" she yelled.

The atmosphere seemed to lift slightly as everyone helped put everything back in it's original place. The only problem was that despite all that, the bells were still missing. Asuna's mood seemed to blanket the whole room. She looked close to tears, reminding Negi of when his Onee-chan Nekane saw him off at the train station. Konoka had made dinner since cleaning took a while and everyone ate in silence. It felt like they were attending a funeral. Even Sayo felt like someone died, and she WAS dead. As they all ate, something clicked in Negi's brain.

_"Asuna plus Negi minus Takamichi equals (Image of Asuna torturing Negi). Asuna minus Takamichi minus bells equal (Image of Asuna crying so much the school floods). Negi plus bells equals (Asuna and Negi with the words "FRIENDS" in big bold letters)" _thought Negi.

If Negi find the bells, Asuna would be happy and stop being mad at him for replacing Takamichi. Negi smiled on the inside at his idea. He won't stop looking for those bells, no matter what. He looked over at Sayo. She would probably help him look as well...suddenly Negi noticed something. A few months ago (when he met her) Sayo couldn't even reach the dorms. She was only able to go as far as a small store located between the dorms and the school. Negi thought it was a little strange. Had Sayo noticed this at all?

"Don't worry Asuna. We'll help you look for your bells. So eat or you won't have to energy to find them" Konoka said as she tried to feed Asuna her food like a child.

Asuna hadn't touched her food at all. She was seriously depressed. Everyone finished their food and left. Negi and Ku Fei headed to there part of the dorms as Konoka bade them goodbye. Sayo floated to the classroom before Negi could speak with her. Negi suddenly remembered that he didn't thank his master for earlier.

"Umm, Master Ku" Negi said.

"Yes-aru?" she answered.

"I wanted to say thanks for earlier. Asuna-san might have pummeled me if you hadn't stepped in" he bowed to her.

"Ah...ahhh, I don't really know why I got so mad myself-aruka. I just did not like seeing you get hurt, especially when you didn't do anything" she said, her face a little red.

There was an awkward silence that followed as they walked back to their room. Negi suddenly wondered where the spear he used that morning was.

"What happened to the naginata? I don't remember you putting it back on the rack" he questioned.

"Oh, I put it back when you went to look at the tree" she said.

They reached thier room at that moment and entered. Negi and Ku Fei both pulled out a set of clothes seeing as they hadn't taken baths yet after they trained. They headed for the bathhouse. As they got there, they started to hear voices. Negi briefly wondered why class 2-A always went to the bathhouse together and at night as he saw everyone (except Asuna).

"Look! It's Negi-sensei!" came a loud chorus of voices.

Negi deftly avoided Makie as she tried to pounce him. Yuna tried to do a flying hug which he ducked under before jumping right over the twins as they tried to slide at him. Training with Ku Fei was possibly the smartest move he had made. He dodged to the the side as Misa tried to grab him then jumped back to the right as Sakurako followed. Modoka didn't let her friend fall in vain as she struck from his blind spot after avoiding her two comrades. Unfortunately Negi predicted that and backflipped right over her and landed on his feet. In the back, Zazie, Mana, and Konoka held up some large score cards. Negi earned a 9, another 9, and a 10.

"Curse that Ku Fei. She taught him too well" Yuna said to the others.

"That's my pupil!" Ku Fei said as she watched him practically dance around the lunging girls.

"Oh yea! SUPER SECRET ULTIMATE TECHNIQUE! SHAMPOO SLIDE!" Fuka and Fumika yelled at once as one tossed shampoo and the other tossed water all over the floor.

"Oh crap!" Negi yelled as he started sliding and slipping all over the floor.

"GET HIM!" everyone yelled.

"No! My pupil-arune!" Ku Fei said as she saw them all rush at the off balance teacher.

At that moment, Konoka threw a giant cotton swab thing like on those weird TV shows where people try to knock each other off things. Negi caught it and went down into the stance he learned that morning.

"HYA!" he yelled as he swung.

The thing was cotton but his strength was enough to push them all to the side and watch them slide on the soapy floor as well.

"Konoka! That was unfair!" Sakurako yelled.

"Ahh, good form Negi-kun but your left arm was too high and your leg was too far out front" Ku Fei explained to him.

"Thank you Master Ku" he said as he bowed.

The rest of the bath went as normal. He got caught off guard, was basically molested, then was suffocated in the water or a swarm of girls. Same old same old. At least until Negi noticed something. He had been there many times in the past 3 months but he never noticed a 2nd pool before. He remembered Akira was on the swim team so he asked her.

"Akira-san. Has there always been a 2nd pool here?" he asked the tall girl.

"Oh yes. It's kind of like a slide out pool. That's what makes this bathhouse so interesting. It actually moves and folds out to reveal about 4 Olympic sized pools. The swim team trains here when the weather outside is cold" she explained.

"Uwahh, that's amazing. But why is it still there? Don't you...I dunno...put it away?" he asked.

"Umm...There were other people swimming in it today. I guess they forgot" she said.

"Others? Like who?" he asks.

"Umm...there was a group of girls from the high school...there were a few people from our swim team...and a few people from our own class" she strained to remember.

"Oh yea! I swam there this morning" Yuna said as she popped up between them.

"Me too! Me too!" Fuka said.

"I did as well" Ako said nearby.

"I remember Asuna being there today" Akira said as well.

That last one caught Negi's attention. Asuna was swimming that morning? When she swims she would usually take off her bells...and she lost them in the afternoon as well. Negi suddenly ran over tot he other pool, much to the other girls confusion. Negi looked into the water...then noticed that the pool was deep. REALLY deep. On estimate, it was at least 30 feet deep. Why was the pool so deep anyway? Negi shrugged as he pumped a little magic into his eyes. He was able to see further and further down. He looked and then sighed. He didn't see anyth-...wait...he saw a glimmer. THERE! He saw a pair of familiar looking bells on the bottom of the pool. Asuna must have dropped them in there without noticing. They were stuck in a small drain pipe so it was hard to see them. No wonder Asuna didn't check the bottom.

"Konoka-san!" Neig called out, making the girls turn to him.

Konoka walked up "Yes?"

"I-I see Asuna's bells! They're at the bottom of the pool!" he yelled.

"R-Really? Oh that's great! I'll go get Asuna!" she said as she hurried out of the bathhouse...before coming back and grabbing her clothes with a blush on her face.

Negi prepared to jump in but something caught him. He looked up to see Akira who was looking unusually grim.

"Negi-sensei. I would not jump in there if I were you" she warned.

"H-huh? Why not?" he whined.

"There is a reason the bottom looks a little murky. For some odd reason, the bottom of the pool has severe pressure that would crush normal people" she said eerily.

Negi looked horrified. WHY do they have such a deadly pool?! He closed his eyes for a second in concentration. A pool about 30 feet deep can't have enough pressure to crush live humans. That would be well over 200 feet to crush them as Akira described it. He felt it. A small trace of magic was leaking into the pool from a small tree root. He wondered why a tree root was leaking magic at all but pushed that to the back of his mind for the moment. He can go down there if he made an aura around him that repelled the other magic. HE nodded to himself as he jumped in.

"NEGI-SENSEI!" Akira gasped as she saw him dive.

Everyone rushed to the edge of the pool and looked in. Negi channeled a small barrier-like aura around him. Yuna stared at Negi.

_"Is he glowing?"_ she thought, not knowing that normal people couldn't see it.

Negi swam down to the bottom of the pool. He felt the sudden pressure but his aura blew back to oposing magic and the area around him turned back to it's normal pressurization. He lands on the bottom and stuck to it using a little more magic. He walked over to the drainpipe and looked inside. The bells were in there and it looks like it was blocking the pipe. Negi grabbed the bells and pulled...and pulled...and PULLED. Those thing were wedged int here pretty well. He continued to pull as everyone else watched him.

"I can't believe Negi-sensei made it to the bottom" Akira said, relief in her voice.

"I think the bells must be stuck in the drainpipe" Ako pointed out.

"Yeah, they do look stuck in the...drainpipe?...There's no drainpipe at the bottom of the pool. The drainpipe is on the side" Akira said.

"EHHH?! THEN WHAT'S HE PULLING THE BELLS OUT FROM" everyone yelled.

Akira thought for a second before remembering. Then she started sweating bullets, a look of dread on her face. She turned back to the pool and looked back down, her eyes widening.

"NEGI-SENSEI!! THAT'S NOT A DRAINPIPE! THAT PIPE ALLOWS THE POOL TO MOVE IN AND OUT OF THE WALL!" she yelled.

Everybody was dumbstruck at that except Negi who couldn't hear her. He was still preoccupied with the bells. Asuna heard this as she walked into the room.

"WHAT?!" she yelled as she rushed over there.

Right as she got halfway, there was a particularly large "clink". Everyone looked back. Negi had pulled out the bells. A sudden rush of water entered the pipe. If Negi hadn't been sticking tot he floor, he probably would have been sucked in as well. A sudden jolt alerted him and the girls. Without warning, Negi was encased in darkness. The pool had slid back into the wall. He swam up only to feel solid concrete. This was NOT good. Back above the water Asuna and Ku Fei were pounding on the walls.

"Negi-kun!" Ku Fei yelled as she started making cracks in the wall with her fists.

"Negi-bouzu!" Asuna yelled as she was kicking the wall.

"Wait you two! If you keep attacking the wall, the pool might not come back out. You need to pull the switch back at the school to open it back up" Akira said.

"I'll go!" Yuna yelled as she seemed to have put her clothes back on and ran.

"Uwaaah, my disciple is drowning" Ku Fei said with tears in her eyes.

"Uwaaaah, Takahata-sensei is gonna kill me for killing Negi" Asuna said with tears rolling down her eyes too.

"Uwaaaaah, Negi-sensei is drowning" Ayaka cried right next to the other two.

"Those three have such one track minds" Konoka said, a sweat drop forming on her head.

Meanwhile, Negi was slowly losing power. The only thing allowing him to breathe was his wind magic that could call forth small bits of air from the small cracks Ku Fei had made. But his magic power was running low. He didn't have to worry about pressure since he was swi,mming near the top of the pool where it's safe but the need for air is making his magic drain quickly.

_"Magic's running out...need to get out...Master-Ku seems to be trying to break the wall down" _Negi thought.

He estimated he had about 2 minutes before his magic runs out and he'll drown. Over to Yuna, she was trying to pick the lock to the school. Why must they lock it up on Sundays? She continued picking the lock. Sayo was asleep until she heard footsteps outside. (28 Seconds have passed) She looked out the window to see her classmate Yuna. She looked distressed and in a hurry. She floated down to her.

"Augh! Stupid lock! Negi-sensei will drown at this rate!" Yuna yelled out frustrated. (47 seconds has passed)

Sayo gasped. She didn't know what was going to but Negi was in trouble. She floated over to the large chain lock and placed her hand on it. Sayo had been listening to Negi's lessons on using magic even though she's dead. Negi said that since she's a ghost, she's more in tune with nature which is where magic power originates. She took his advice and concentrated hard. Yuna let go of the lock as it suddenly turned ice cold. Right before her eyes, the lock froze and broke.

"W-what the heck?!" Yuna yelled as she back up from the door which suddenly swung open.

Sayo knew she's probably freaked out but Negi was in trouble. She went behind Yuna and concentrated on her powers as a poltergeist and pushed her. Yuna stumbled foward. She was completely freaked out but apparently something wanted her to hurry. She ran inside the school as Sayo followed behind her. (1 minute 3 seconds) She ran down the hallways, zoomed passed room after room until she saw it. The Control Room for many parts of the school. She ran to the room...and found it locked as well.

"Aww c'mon!" Yuna yelled as she smacked the door.

Sayo traveled through the door but it was a key lock. She couldn't unlock it.

"Aww c'mooon!" she whined.

She was already tired from using that little bit of magic at the front door. That was the first time she used magic so she would obviously be tired. Preobably the onyl reason she COULD use it at all was because she was a ghost. She heard Yuna bashing at the door. (1 minute 36 seconds) Yuna looked through the window of the door. The switch was RIGHT there. Right in front of her eyes. She started knocking on the window to see if she could possibly break through. Yuna suddenly had an idea. That "thing" from earlier that helped her get inside might still be around. She didn't know if it was a ghost or whatever but for now, her teacher was dying.

"Uh, umm. H-hello? Umm, I don't know if your a ghost or something but, my teacher is in trouble" she said aloud.

Sayo noticed she was looking in the wrong direction but she got the message.

"I-If you are a gh-ghost or something, can you pull the lever in this room?" she said with a gulp.

Ghosts freak her OUT. Her dad used to tell her ghost stories when she was little so speaking to something tha is possibly a ghost was nerve-racking to her.

"T-the large g-green lever on the right side" she said as she pointed to it from the window.

(1 minute 58 seconds) Yuna hoped tot he gods that it worked. she stared at the lever. When she didn't see it move, she started losing hope. That is until she heard a creak. Slowly, very slowly, the lever started moving. Yuna was filled with awe, happiness, fear, and dread all at the same time. The lever went completely down with a large "CLUNK". Back with Negi, his magic ran out.

_"C-crap...losing air...can't...last...I'm sorry...Onee-chan" _he thought as his vision started fading.

His mind didn't register the large jolt. His fading consciousness allowed him to see shadowy figures. Slowly...very slowly a shadow was approaching him. He couldn't tell who it was but he had one last thought before his brain shut down.

_"That person...looks beautiful"_

_**Infirmary**_

Negi woke with a jolt. He sat up so fast he hit his head on something. He rubbed his head as his brain registered the scene. He saw his master rubbing her head.

"Aiyaa! That hurt!" Ku Fei whined as she rubbed her head.

"Negi-kun!" Konoka yelled as she hugged him.

"NEGI-SENSEI!" came a loud chorus behind her.

All of class 2-A was in the room, which was feeling really cramped. He looked around. He was in a bed in the infirmary. He couldn't remember ANYTHING after getting shut in the wall. It was all a blur. Konoka got off him as he smiled at his class.

"What happened?" she asked.

"Sorry Negi-sensei. I should have noticed sooner. The drainpipe the bells were stuck in weren't actually drainpipes but a complex system that drains in water to push and pull itself and the pool in and out of the wall. When you pulled out the bells, the water was able to get in and push you into the wall" Akira explained.

"But Yuna ran all the way to the school to hit the switch and get you back out, but it took a while" Makie said.

Yuna gave him a thumbs up. She didn't tell anyone what happened at the school. It sorta scared her although she was curious as to why something like a ghost wanted to save him.

"But by then, it looked like you were starting to lose consciousness. Asuna was about to dive in but Ku Fei jumped in first. She saved you before you drifted back tot he bottom" Kazumi explained "I even have a picture!"

She pulled out a bunch of photos. Ku Fei running, then jumping, then diving, then swimming, then pulling him up. She took so many that if she were to flip through them, it would look like a small movie.

"Master-Ku, thank you" Negi said.

"Ah, ahh, I can't have my disciple drown-aru" she said, blushing slightly.

Asuna walked up to Negi's bed, mainly being pushed by Konoka.

"Asuna-san..." he said as he looked at her.

She looked like she was having a hard time thinking of what to say.

"T-Thank you Negi-bouzu. I...I'm REALLY sorry. I didn't mean for you to jump in just to get my bells" she said was a low bow to hide her face.

She was feeling beyond guilty. Negi looked at her softly with a maturity that caught most of the girl's attention.

"Asuna-san. These bells were important to you. As your teacher, it was my duty to make sure you got them back" he said as he pulled out the bells from his swim trunk's pocket.

He handed them to her as she immediately thanked him. Suddenly, his nose felt funny. He was going to sneeze! He did NOT want to ruin the moment and immediately turned around before...

"AH...AH...AHHHHHH-CHOOOOOOOOOOOOO" he sneezed in the direction of the open window.

A sudden gust of wind blew as everyone tired to keep their skirts down. Haruna went to close the window.

"Where did that gale come from" she asked.

"Who knows" Ayaka said as she fixed her hair.

Suddenly, Negi felt the need to sneeze again. He rushed to the window and opened it before he sneezed again. This time his sneeze was outside so no one felt anything.

_**The Next Day**_

"Yep Negi-kun. You have a cold" Konoka said as Negi laid in bed.

"I-I guess Takamichi will be substituting today" Negi said with a sniff.

"WAHOO! Err, I mean, that's too bad Negi-bouzu" Asuna cheered.

"We better get going-de gozaru" Kaede said.

"Bye Negi-kun" Ku Fei said as they all left and shut the door.

Negi felt horrible, and the worst part is that his sneezing is getting worse. He's so sick he can't control his magic correctly and every sneeze is making bigger and bigger gusts. About 10 minutes passed when he heard a knock on the door. Shinzuna walked into the room.

"Hello Negi-sensei" she greeted,

"H-hello Shizuna-sensei. What brings you hear" he asks.

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news but...You see, they end of term tests are coming up and your class is looking to be the lowest scoring class again" she explained.

"A-again?"

"Yes, you see, every year they always get the lowest score but since this is an elevator school, they still go to the next grade so they barely try anyway"

"What does this have to do with me?"

"Well..."

Shizuna walks over and hands him a small sheet of paper. He reads the cover. (FINAL TEST) He rips it open and reads the instructions.

Dear Negi-kun

As you know, the end of term exams are coming up. Your

final test to become a permanent teacher has been assigned.

If you can get them to no longer be the lowest scoring class,

you will be hired permanently. Should you fail though...I should

not have to tell you. 

Best of luck, Dean Konoe.

Negi gulped. This is not going to be pretty.

* * *

**Me: Hope you enjoyed the chapter! I bet your wondering why Asuna had her time in the spotlight. Well, I felt it would be out of her character if she was angry for so long so I had to have them make up. Yuna seems to be catching on, oh no! And even worse, those exams are coming up! What will Negi do?! Find out next time on Chapter 4! (Sorry for not getting to the Library Arc sooner)**

**Yuna: AHH A GHOST!!**

**Sayo: Noo! Don't run!**

**Negi: Sayooooo-saaaaan!**

**Me: CALM DOWN BACK THERE!! Umm, please read and review!**


	4. IV Library Journey Part I

**Me: YO! Hope you all enjoyed the last chapter. Sorry for the long wait for chapter 3, someone ruined my plans and it came out a little late. I made sure I'm getting this out on time. Chapter 4 is here!**

**Asuna: So are our end of term exams.**

**Ku Fei: Ahh, were gonna fail-aruka!!**

**Yue: Calm down, you just need to study (obviously has no plans to study)**

**Makie: We're all gonna fail!!**

**Kaede: Oh boy, this isn't good for Negi-dono...**

**Me: BAKA RANGERS! Say the disclaimer!**

**Asuna: BAKA RED! TS doesn't...**

**Ku Fei: BAKA YELLOW! own...**

**Yue: BAKA BLACK! Mahou...**

**Makie: BAKA PINK! Sensei...**

**Kaede: BAKA BLUE! Negima!!**

* * *

Takamichi must have been away from his class longer then he thought. When he walked into class everyone seemed depressed. Except Asuna who was waving at him wildly. He walked over tot eh podium as Nodoka did her usual, except the normal gusto she had seemed to have dropped. As they all sat back down, they were unusually quiet.

_"I can't tell whether I should be happy or jealous. They've really taken a liking to Negi-kun" _he thought as he prepared for class.

"Alright, I'm sure you all know that Negi-ku- err, Negi-sensei is in his room with a cold. Just because he isn't here doesn't mean you can slack off with your studies. The end of term exams are coming up soon..." he started.

Everyone seemed to have his attention but he noticed more then half...well nearly the whole class seemed to have their minds elsewhere. Maybe he'll give them a little...motivation.

"I have some news to the class I probably shouldn't tell but if this class gets last place one more time...something bad will happen to make your lives much much worse" he said the last part with an eerie voice while lowering his head slightly so that his glasses shone in the light, hiding his eyes from view with a grin that would make the dead rise up and fall back down again. He suddenly had everyone's attention.

"Good. Now to call attendance" he said as he looked at the class portfolio.

He smiled when he saw a few comments next to the students. There was the first he made but a few more had shown up. He seemed intrigued that even Sayo had a comment next to her. Actually...he looked up to Sayo's seat and noticed that she wasn't there. He suddenly looked up into the morning sun out the window.

_"Had she become a Buddha?" _he said.

Had anyone heard him they probably would have fallen flat on their backs. Meanwhile, everyone in the class was whispering.

"Something bad?" said a freaked out Yuna.

"This is horrible. What could it be?" Sakurako said.

"Kazumi, what's our average scores in this class?" Misa asked.

"Lets see...umm...about 60 percent of the class is in the "Below Average" Range, 20 percent is in the "Excellent" Range, and the Baka Rangers are in the "Oh Damn You Should Give Up Now" Range" Kazumi said.

"Who named the the last one "Oh Damn You Should Give Up Now"?"Madoka.

"My grandfather" Konoka said.

"Kazumi, can you find out what that really bad thing is?" Ako asked.

"Yes, but it will take me a at least a day unless someone has a lead" the ace reporter of class 2-A declared.

At that moment, the bell rung. Kazumi went straight to Takamichi as everyone dispersed. Ku Fei, Kaede, Konoka, Asuna, Makie, Yue, Haruna, and Nodoka walked as a group to the dorms.

"H-Hey, why are you coming along?" Asuna said as she pointed out Makie and the Library Trio.

"Well as the Baka Rangers, we obviously need help from Negi-sensei" Yue said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"I AM NOT A BAKA RANGER!" Asuna yelled.

Kaede pulled out Kazumi's report.

"Asuna-dono, your scores are the lowest in the whole class-de gozaru" Kaede had, much to her chagrin.

"Where the hell were YOU yesterday anyway?!" Asuna yelled.

"I was busy on Sunday" Kaede replied back.

"So Makie, have you been practicing your gymnastics" Konoka asked.

"Yeah! I'm sure I will get into the nationals!" she said confidently.

"When were they again?" Haruna asked.

"Oh, they are next year. It's a long way away" Makie said rubbing her head.

"Oh, here we are" Konoka said.

Ku Fei walked in first.

"Disciple! Are you better yet-aruka?" she ran in with a smile.

"Hey ya sick brat" Asuna said, obviously playing with him.

"Hiiii Negi-kun" Makie greeted.

"Negi-dono, good to see you again-de gozaru" Kaede waved.

"Good day Negi-sensei" Yue greeted.

"G-Good a-aftern-noon" Nodoka said with a low bow.

"Negi-kun! Are you okay?" Konoka asked.

"It's getting crowded in here" Haruna said as she closed the door.

"Uwaaah, why is there so many people" Negi asked.

"Other then the fact you were sick, we need tutoring on the end of term exams" Yue said.

"All of you?" Negi asked before stifling a sneeze, he's learned how to hold back a sneeze now.

"Well actually just us, the Baka Rangers" Yue said.

"...Baka Rangers?" Negi hadn't heard of them before.

"Baka Rangers, assemble!" Yue said.

"Baka Yellow!" Ku Fei said as she struck a pose.

"Baka Blue!" Kaede also struck a pose.

"Baka Pink!" Makie said although her pose was rather reluctant.

The others stared at Asuna.

"I AM NOT A BAKA RANGER!!" she yelled.

They continued to stare...which finally broke her down. She got into position with tears in her eyes.

"Baka Red..."

"And Baka Black!" Yue said as she struck a pose as well.

Konoka, Haruna, and Nodoka clapped lightly, more from embarrassment from knowing those people then excitement.

"The Baka Rangers are the lowest scoring people in the class" Konoka explained.

"Actually it's the lowest in the school" Yue corrected.

Asuna felt like a giant weight fell on her head. An imaginary stone carving reading out "Dumbest Student In Whole Middle School" hung over her head. Negi remembered the assignment he had as well...it was NOT looking pretty.

"Alright, I'll tutor you as much as you can..." Negi said before stifling another sneeze.

_**5 hours later**_

"Alright, the tests are over. Remember, these are a maximum of 20 points. You need at least a 15 to pass. We have been doing this for the past 5 hours so lets see everyone's final score" Negi said as he picked up the papers.

Konoka...a 20. Nodoka...a 20. Haruna...a 16. Konoka and Nodoka are both in the top 100 smartest people in school. Haruna is around the middle. Now for the Rangers. Yue...14. Ku Fei...12. Kaede...10. Makie...9. Asuna...8. He handed them back their papers. Strangely enough, they looked happy.

"Wow! I got an 8!" Asuna yelled out.

"I did better then usual" Makie said gladly.

"I did as well-de gozaru" Kaede said.

Ku Fei was more in shock. She's never even seen a 12 before.

"I did a little better but I was sure I was going to pass" Yue said with a snap of her fingers.

Negi could tell whether to be happy or glad. At this rate, he's gonna get fired but on another hand, he was actually able to teach them. He sighed. Nodoka noticed this since she had been watching him for a while. Ever since he saved her, she's never been NEAR him. She avoided him at every turn. The only reason she was with them now was because she was there with Yue. She was too embarrassed to be around him but right now she suddenly remembered something that might help him.

"N...Ne...umm...Negi-sensei" she said shyly.

"Yes Nodoka-san" he said.

Nodoka barely spoke much so this got everyone's attention. As a matter of fact, some thought she was afraid of boys except Yue and Haruna who noticed her watching Negi many times.

"I...umm...I heard about a...umm...a book in the library" she started out shyly.

"Yes..." Negi listened.

"It's just a rumor...but...umm...I heard it was a...umm...magic book that can...umm...make people smarter...and...umm..." she just strayed off there.

Yue and Haruna remembered as well.

"Oh right!" Haruna yelled out, glad Nodoka thought of it.

"Legend has it that inside the school's Library, a magic book exists that can make the reader really smart" Yue said.

"That's impossible" Asuna said.

"Sounds mysterious" Kaede said with her hand on her chin in a thinking pose.

"If no one found it yet, it must be protected by something" Konoka said.

"Something strong?!" Ku Fei said hoping for a fight.

"Who knows. It still sounds stupid" Asuna continued.

"I...I probably...shouldn't have said anything" Nodoka said.

Negi had been thinking about it. A magic book that makes you smarter. That seems too good to be true but he's a mage and he's friends with a ghost. What's there to lose? Besides, if something bad happened, he can probably use magic to save them and erase their memories afterwards.

"Alright then, lets go!" he said.

"Your enthusiasm is great but your still sick" Makie said.

"I'm feeling a lot better now" Negi said as he hopped out of bed.

He was a little unbalanced but otherwise just fine. They still looked reluctant with Negi sick.

"I don't know, you look a little wobbly" Haruna said.

"The Library is a dangerous place" Yue warned.

"A library is dangerous?" he asked since he never went there.

"How about this, we will all go and let you see for yourself how dangerous it is. If we feel you can't come, then we will head right back. Understood" Asuna said, once more like a big sister.

Everyone agreed and went on their way. Negi was wearing a coat and scarf with a small hat. Haruna could barely restrain herself from picking him up and cuddling him. He looked like an adorable chibi doll. Negi had asked Ku Fei to bring him his staff. She had strapped his staff on her back along with the same naginata from before. She said that it's just in case something should happen and a weapon was needed.

"So Negi-dono learned the way of the spear. The Chinese King of Weapons-de gozaru. Good choice" Kaede said to Ku Fei.

Ku Fei nodded as she walked. She found it a little surprising that the staff weighed the same as the spear which was strange since it was made of wood as compared to the metal spear.

"Negi-kun, what is this staff made of?" she asked.

Negi remembered from an autobiography of his own dad that his staff was a gift to him from some emperor he saved. It was made from 5 different woods from the barks of 5 different holy trees. He thought better then to tell them that.

"I'm not quite sure" he answered although it was a little muffled from the scarf.

"OOOH! You are sooo cute! I just wanna hug you to death" Haruna said, only her willpower preventing her from performing her action.

"Are we there yet?" Asuna asked.

"No" Yue answered.

"Are we there now?" she asked again.

"No" Yue answered again.

"Are we there NOW" Asuna moaned.

The Library was very far away on campus and it took nearly an hour to get there. Negi still wondered why they walked instead of got a ride.

"No" Yue answered again.

"Asuna-san, I think you're annoying Yue-san" Negi said.

"Have you even been to the library before?" Haruna asked.

Ku Fei, Kaede, Makie, Asuna, and Negi all shook their heads. No wonder they were so dumb, excluding Negi.The finally entered the library a little later. Negi looked around with stars in his eyes. There were shelves as far as he could see and so many books, some were falling like waterfalls.

"Amazing!" he yelled out as he looked at one of the shelves.

"B-Be careful Negi-sensei...a lot of the book are-" Nodoka started.

"UWAAAH! That book there is really rare!" Negi yelled as he tried to grab it.

Kaede caught an arrow that nearly shot through his head. Negi immediately backed away from the shelves.

"Booby trapped" Haruna finished.

"Uwaaah! That book right there! Is rare too! And that one!" Negi said with wonder.

"What's wrong with this brat?" Asuna asked as he pulled him out of the way of the arrows.

"Sorry, I'm an antique collector and these books are centuries old" he said.

This place is too dangerous for you. You're so sick you can't even tell that those arrows can kill" she scolded him.

"I'm fine! I don't feel bad at all" he said.

Indeed, the excitement seemed to have blew his cold away. He was so interested in the books.

"So where is the magic book-aruyo?" Ku Fei asked.

"I heard it's on the lowest level of the library. No one has been down that far before" Haruna explained.

"Negi-sensei, you will come with me and the Baka Rangers. Nodoka and Haruna will be telling us the pathways via radio. Don't any of you leave my sight. As a veteran Library Expedition Club member, I know more about the traps then you do" Yue said.

"How will we stop them if we accidentally trip one?" Negi asked.

At that moment Makie stepped on a switch on the floor. A whole book shelf fell down over her. She quickly used her ribbon to grab onto another bookshelf and swing away. Ku Fei knocked the shelf away as Kaede used her quick reflexes to catch every single book that fell.

"Ahh, I see. You're all dumb but athletic...except Yue-san, no offense" Negi said.

"None taken" she said.

"HEY! Who are you calling dumb!" Asuna yelled at him.

"Ok, enough talking. We need to get going, are you ready Nodoka, Haruna?" Yue called.

"Y-Yes" Nodoka replied.

"We are good to go" Haruna said, a map in front of her with a radio.

Everyone was ready. Everyone went ahead as they left Nodoka and Haruna behind. Before Negi could get too far, he heard a voice. He turned around to see Sayo fly through the wall. She seems to have been looking for him.

"Negi-sensei!" Sayo said as she floated down.

"S-Sayo-san! How are you here?" Negi whispered so the others wouldn't hear.

"What do you mean, I followed you" she said.

"I mean a few months ago, you couldn't go further then halfway to the dorms" he said.

"Oh that. I found out if I stayed near you, I can go anywhere" she replied happily.

"That's strange, I thought you were a fixated ghost" Negi said.

"A what?" Sayo asked.

"A fixated ghost, you know like you can only stay in one place. They say if a person dies with really strong feelings for one place and had a regret as well, their ghost will haunt that place" Negi explained.

Sayo shrugged. She didn't know and Negi didn't know why she can stay near him. Negi and Sayo walked on behind the others. Everyone entered the lower levels of the library. The next area seemed to have no floors. Negi looked down.

"S-Sayo-san...if you were to try and float down there, how long would it take you?" Negi gulped.

"I don't wanna know" Sayo said as she also looked down, glad she couldn't fall.

"HELLO!" Asuna yelled into the abyss.

A series of echoes was heard. Kaede took a rock she happened to find and wrapped an air horn around it. Turning it on, she tossed it. They heard it blowing...he got fainter...and fainter...and fainter...they might have been listening to it's echoes for all they knew. What they did know was that those echoes stopped as well. They all gulped. That's one LOOOOOOOOOONG fall. Yue pointed out the bookcases that amazingly went from all the way down there.

"We need to walk over the bookcases" she explained.

"What?! Those narrow things?! If you take one wrong step you'll fall down to who knows where" Makie said.

"Just don't fall then" Yue said ominously.

They continued over the bookcases slowly. Ku Fei accidentally stepped on a switch that opened a trapdoor.

"AH!" she yelled.

Negi jumped and grabbed her hand right before she could fall. With a grunt he pulled her up.

"A-Are you okay, Master Ku?" he asked, adrenaline rushing through his body.

"Y-Yea. Thank you-aru. You sure have gotten strong" Ku Fei praised him.

It was then Negi noticed just what 3 months of training can do. He wasn't even using magic to strengthen his muscles. Ku Fei continued along, a little more cautious of traps but Negi was staying close to her just in case. Kaede chuckled at him. They continued on over the bookcases until they reached the next area. It was a giant lake of books!

"Be very careful. This is not as solid as it seems. We aren't sure how but this area is just like a small lake. We need to swim though these books. They hurt a little to swim in but it's not too bad" Yue explained.

Kaede just ran right over it with her ninja skills as everyone jumped in. Yue was right, it felt really weird swimming in books. Takes the expression "Swimming in Knowledge" to a whole new level.

"Ahh, I think there's a book in my pants" Makie whined.

She pulled out a book labeled "Necronomicon" and tossed it to the side.

"Tell me about it" Asuna said as she tossed a book labeled _"Mortis Contemplo"._

"That's amazing Kaede-san! I wish I could do that" Negi said with stars in his eyes.

Kaede started cartwheeling and flipping around on the books like it was a solid floor. Ninjas were cool.

"I'll teach you if you want" Kaede said.

"H-Hey! Get your own disciple-aru" Ku Fei said, missing the slight tone of jealousy in her own voice.

"What's wrong with both of us having the same disciple. If he trained under me, he'll get strong and you can finally have a good opponent" Kaede said, a small smile playing on her lips.

They could tell Ku Fei was thinking that over. She's been hoping for a good opponent for years.

"Ok fine. Negi-kun, from today onward you will train with Kaede as well" Ku Fei commanded as his master.

Negi nodded since he didn't have much of a say in the matter. He inwardly groaned. That's twice as much training as before. Tears streamed down his eyes as he though of being worked to the bone by two people. Sadly, he won't know he will train with a 3rd person in the future. Poor Negi. They finally got through the books as Yue threw a book over her shoulder entitled _"Ιερή Βίβλος"_. They entered the next room to find a GIANT shelf with no other way to go. They obviously needed to climb up. Negi wondered why they needed to go up when the book was said to be located at the bottom.

"Well, I guess it's kind of obvious we climb now" Yue said as she heard Haruna give instructions in her earphone.

Kaede started walking up diagonally.

"Aww c'mon! that's no fair! Climb up like the rest of us-aruyo!" Ku Fei yelled.

"Nin Nin" she nodded as she came back down.

Yue passed out some mountain climbing gear to the others. They all tied themselves to each other and prepared to climb. They had Ku Fei and Asuna in the lead since they were the strongest and could probably hold on if someone fell by accident. Sayo just floated near Negi.

"Alright then, don't look down" Yue said.

At that note, everyone looked down.

"I said not to look down!" Yue yelled.

"Negi-kun, can you handle this?" Ku Fei asked, a little concern showing since he was still a little sick.

"I'm fine Master-Ku" Negi called up.

"You're really surprising. You kept up with us the whole time so far. I'm impressed" Asuna praised.

"I agree. Your training with Ku Fei really shows right now" Kaede said.

"I don't want to be dead weight" he said, scratching the back of his head.

"Ku Fei, are you ok carrying that staff and spear-de gozaru" Kaede said.

"Yep, I'm just fine" she said.

Suddenly a pull was felt on everyone's ropes. Makie has placed her hand on a section of rotted wood.

"Yah!" she yelled as she whipped out her ribbon which caught a large amount of books but they fell out as well.

If Makie fell now, everyone would probably get pulled down as well. Negi was at the bottom since he was the smallest and weighed the least. He hoped Ku Fei and Asuna could hang on. He jumped off and swung using everyone else as a swing of sorts. He ran on the side and caught Makie before she dragged everyone down with her. He knocked away the falling books at the same time. He sighed as Makie grabbed a hold of the shelf again.

"Good job Negi-sensei!" Yue called out.

"T-thank you Negi-kun. You saved me" Makie praised him.

"Ahh, so this is what pride in a disciple feels like" Ku Fei said.

"Makes me wish I had gotten to teach him first" Kaede said.

"Good job Negi-sensei" Sayo said with a thumbs up sign.

"Ok ok, we need to keep climbing before anyone else falls!" Asuna yelled.

It took about half an hour to finally reach the top. They looked around on top a few few seconds as Yue received directions from Nodoka.

"Ok, got it. Ok guys, we need to go this way" she pointed to a certain direction.

They all came upon a set of slides, much to their horror. There were 5 silver slides going all the way down. Sayo flew down a little to see what they looked like. It was like the slide version of a roller coaster.

"W-W-We gotta go down THOSE?!" Asuna said, backing away slightly.

"How will we know if we don't fall off-de gozaru" Kaede said, a small trail of sweat rolling down her cheek.

"I-I'm pretty sure we will be safe" Yue said, albeit uncertainly.

"Hey, there are only 5 slides and 6 of us-aru" Ku Fei said as she pointed to the slides.

"I think it's safer if we all slide at once" Yue said.

"Does this mean I slide with 1 person" Negi said.

"...Yea, guess you do" Asuna said.

"Well? Who are you going to slide with?" Yue asked.

"Umm...I think I'll go with Master-Ku" he pointed at Ku Fei.

"Alright, everyone take a slide-de gozaru" Kaede said as she took the one to the far left.

Asuna went to the one to the center left. Yue took the far right. Makie took the center right. That left Ku Fei and Negi to the center since Sayo could fly down. Negi blushed furiously since he didn't quite think about what sliding with a person entailed. Negi sat between her legs as she wrapped her arms around him. Ku Fei was blushing a little as well. She probably would have felt better if it was him holding her since she kinda got used to it when sleeping with him. Everyone slid at once. It was the worst slide EVER. Negi didn't even know HOW but there were rises and falls, corkscrews, and even loops. How did anyone even stay on!? Sayo was following Negi when she noticed something.

"N-Negi-sensei! All the slides head to different places!!" Sayo yelled.

"WHAT!?" he yelled, much to Ku Fei's confusion.

"What is it Negi-kuuuuuuun" she said as they suddenly hit a loop.

"The slides! they go to different PLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACEEEEEEEES!" was all he got before they got flung into the air and fell down a large shaft.

Everything was dark as they fell. He could still see his master slightly in the dark while Sayo sort of glowed. Without warning, they hit a deep pool of water.

"Ugh, I'm NEVER doing that again" Negi yelled.

"Are you alright Negi-kun?" Ku Fei asked as she swam over.

"I-It's dark in here" Sayo said.

_**With Asuna and Makie  
**_

She went flying through a tunnel in the wall. She was seriously getting sick from the ride. Suddenly a large amount of light shined in her face as she was suddenly flung into the air. She shut her eyes from the sudden light before landing with a thud. She opened her eyes to see...A DESERT?! She heard a thump next to her. A second shaft was there and she saw Makie get flung out to meet a face full of sand. Makie spit it up.

"Ugh, I am NEVER doing that again" she whined.

"MAKIE! Where the heck are we?!" Asuna yelled as she ran up.

"Looks like all the slides headed to different places" Makie said as she looked around.

"It's a freaking desert in here" Asuna panted as she suddenly noticed the temperature.

"Ugh. We had better get out of here" Makie said as they headed off in some random direction.

_**With Yue and Kaede**_

"Whaaa!" Yue yelled as she was flung.

She landed with a thump on a large pile of books. She looked around to see a mountainous environment. A large gust of wind nearly knocked her off. She noticed a second slide nearby. True to it's nature, Kaede slid out as well. She landed gracefully.

"Yue-dono. It appears we have been separated from the others-de gozaru" Kaede said looking around.

"We had better be careful around here. It's like a real mountain, wind and all" Yue said.

"Any news from Nodoka-dono and Haruna-dono?" Kaede asked.

"Nope, it seems we are so far down they can't reach us" she answered.

"We had best move" Kaede said as another gust of wind picked up.

**_With a certain forgotten member_**

Konoka didn't know why but she had the sudden urge to yell out "I bet you all forgot about me". She shook herself to get rid of the urge. She had followed everyone else a couple hours ago but needed to use the restroom. She was sure they had heard her but it looks like she got left behind. She just spent the last two hours trying to find the library.

"Aww, I wanted to go with them" she pouted cutely.

She took a look at her map. She had NO idea where she was. It was then she noticed a sign in the middle of a plaza. It had a map and the usual "You are here" dot. She ran up to it happily. She was getting worried that instead of finding the library, she would get lost for the rest of the night. A crunching sound came from behind her.

"Konoka? Is that you?" came a voice.

Konoka turned around to see Yuna.

"Yuna! Hi! What are you doing around here so late at night?" Konoka asked.

"I should ask you the same. I couldn't sleep" she said.

Ever since yesterday, the dark FREAKED HER OUT. Ghosts might pop up or something. She took a walk around the campus instead. She mainly stayed near the light poles.

"Oh. I was headed tot he library but now I'm lost" Konoka said, looking back at the map.

"The Library, I know where it is. I can show you the way but you gotta tell me why your going there. Are you meeting someone? Going to the library late at night where no one can see you" Yuna taunted.

If Konoka was going to meet her boyfriend or something, Yuna HAD to know. A lot of girls just can't resist love stories. Konoka shook her head. She explained everything to the basketball player.

"Oh, so you all found out about the bad thing that was going to happen" Yuna said.

"Bad thing? No, we still don't know what's going to happen. What is the bad thing?" Konoka asked.

"You didn't know that if we get last place again, Negi-sensei will get fired?" she said.

"NEGI-KUN WILL GET FIRED?!" the girl looked horrified.

"You really didn't know after all huh?" Yna said before she was grabbed by Konoka.

"Tell me the way to the Library" she yelled.

Yuna pointed her out. She had no idea why she just went along with her but it's better then wandering around in the middle of the night. Konoka and Yuna finally made it to the Library. They both entered to find no one there. Nodoka and Haruna probably left.

"Whoa! That's a long way down!" Yuna yelled.

Konoka took a look over the edge as well. She whistled then heard her own echo.

"Don't wanna fall in there" she said.

"Look, I think you can walk over here!" Yuna beaconed Konoka over to the book shelves.

Konoka ran over and they started walking across. They walked for a few minutes until Yuna stepped on the same trap Ku Fei stepped on earlier. The trapdoor sprung open, this time claiming two victims.

"WAAAAH!" Yuna yelled as tears streamed down her eyes.

"AHHHHH!" Konoka screamed as well.

They both fell until they felt as though they were going through some kind of tunnel. They fell, and fell, and fell. Then at one point, they felt a HUGE gust of wind. It slowed them down from their decent. It pushed both of them into a 2nd shaft with a thud. Konoka got up first.

"W-where are we?" she said.

"Ugh, I don't know" Yuna rubbed her sore bottom.

"I guess we keep going though the tunnel" Konoka pointed out.

Yuna nodded as they walked along. They had no idea where they were going but they followed the trail anyway.

_**Back with Negi, Ku Fei, and Sayo**_

Negi and Ku Fei swam along the dark waterway. There didn't seem to be any land so all the could do was swim through the dark. A couple times, he hit a wall indicating a corner but other then that, they didn't feel much for see much. It was strange but there didn't appear to be any books at all. Sayo was casting an eerie light only he could see and it helped him tremendously. She was guiding the way since apparently, ghosts can see in the dark. She indicated a left turn.

"Go left" Negi said.

Ku Fei didn't question him. They were on high alert. Being in the darkness so long with no sign of life anywhere was suspicious. It felt like any minute, something would just pop out of the darkness. Negi had taken back his staff to lessen the weight on Ku Fei and to stay armed. Negi wasn't feeling as good as before either. His cold which was disappearing had returned slightly with all the moisture and cold. Sayo indicated a right turn.

"To the right" he said aloud.

Ku Fei just nodded. They swam for what seemed like hours. They're splashing was the only noise they heard aside from the occasional "drip drip" from the ceiling. Negi couldn't even see the ceiling for that matter. It was pretty high up in the dark. Suddenly Ku Fei whispered to him in the dark. He and Sayo stopped.

"I think I heard something" she said.

He hadn't heard anything. He stopped for a minute. There was absolute silence. Ku Fei shrugged. She was sure she heard something. They swam along until...Negi thinks he knew what Ku Fei was thinking of. He stopped as well. The other two stopped. He made a splash on the water but...he didn't hear anything. There was NO other sound aside from each other talking. He didn't hear the water as he swam or splashed.

"Master-Ku. Do you hear that?" he asked.

"I don't hear anything-aru" she said.

"Exactly. There is no sound" he said.

Ku Fei took out the spear and tapped the wall. There should have been a metallic sound as it hit. Everyone looked a little stunned.

"You said you heard something a few minutes ago, right Master-Ku?" Negi asked.

"Yeah. I thought I heard some funny noise" she said.

"You heard a funny noise and suddenly the only thing we can hear is our own voices. That's not good" he said.

He motioned for Sayo to stick close to him and he and Ku Fei took out their weapons. Fighting in water would be difficult. Someone or some THING was purposely blocking out the sound. What he wanted to know was why. He motioned for Ku Fei to start swimming as he made sure Sayo was always within arm's reach. They kept swimming in absolute silence. There was nothing but darkness as well. They could only see each other. They felt like they were floating. They swam until Negi noticed something. It felt like a breeze. Ku Fei must have noticed it too since she felt her face for a second. They started swimming some more. That was when Negi noticed their mistake. They didn't feel a breeze. The air wasn't moving, they were.

"I think we're in a current" Negi said.

"A current? In here?" she asked.

"Y-Yea, I think it's moving faster as we swim along" he said.

"Should we turn back?" she asked.

Without warning, the current got faster. Looks like it didn't allow them to turn back.

"Don't get separated!" Negi yelled as he reached out for Ku Fei.

They grabbed each others hands and pulled each other into an embrace. They didn't have time to worry about their close bodies. Sayo floated just far enough to not accidentally touch them. They still couldn't hear anything but they sure as hell felt everything. The water was moving faster and getting rougher. They felt each other bob up and down, possibly going near a whirlpool of sorts as they would suddenly spin around and around before moving on. A sudden burst of light caught their attention. Sound suddenly was restored. They heard it. They roar. A large waterfall was ahead and they had no way to avoid it.

_**With Asuna and Makie**_

"IT'S SOOOOO HOT!" Asuna yelled as she walked on.

"A-Asu-na! I-I don't think...I can...make it!" Makie said as she was crawling on the sand.

"Don't be stupid! You can't die in a place like this!" Asuna yelled but her anger seemed to make her hotter.

"We...need water..."Makie said, dehydrated.

"How the hell is there a desert in this damn library anyway?! Where are the others?!" Asuna moaned.

"I think I heard a splash before I ended up here" Makie moaned as well.

Asuna was hot. Makie was hot. EVERYTHING was HOT! They had been wandering around a seemingly endless desert for what felt to them, like months. They had fallen for a hallucination a while back and were seriously pissed off. Asuna thinks Makie might be starting to get delirious.

"Asuna! I think I see a RacDonalds! And next to it! It's a KingBurger! Maybe we can get some water at the Spendy's! Then we can eat at Floe's!" Makie yelled.

"Calm down! You are seeing things!" Asuna yelled as she shook her friend.

"Alright! They're gone! But...I think I see a water fountain" Makie said pointing at a spot.

"Don't be ridiculous. There is no...huh? There is! I see it too!" Asuna yelled.

They both ran to the fountain. Asuna kicked it. They heard the metal clang. Makie touched it, it felt HOT! It was definitely made of metal. Asuna pushed the little handle thing. Water spouted out. Makie touched it.

"I-IT'S REAL!" Makie yelled out.

The two fought over the water fountain, not caring why a water fountain was out in the middle of a desert. They both drank as much as they could.

"UWAAAAH!! I FEEL SO ALIVE!" Asuna yelled out.

"I'M STILL ALIVE! THANK YOU GOD!" Makie yelled out as well.

"Why do you think there is a fountain in the middle of a desert?" Asuna asked, wiping away some sweat.

"I have NO clue" Makie said.

"Should we just stay here or do we keep going?" Asuna asked, looking at the endless expanse.

"If we stay, we won't be getting out of here anytime soon" Makie said.

"Do you have a bottle or something to put water in?" Asuna asked.

Makie searched her explorer's backpack Yue gave them as part of the rock climbing gear. She found two empty canisters. Asuna laughed happily as she filled both of them up. They chose a direction and started walking again.

"I wonder how everyone else is" Makie said as she trekked.

"I think everyone can take care of themselves. Negi-bouzu seems like he's been getting good training and he's with Ku Fei so they should be in too much trouble. Yue's a veteran at this and Kaede probably can handle herself as well" Asuna said.

BOY was she wrong about Negi and Ku Fei. They walked along across the desert, over dunes, and fighting the wind. During one particular windstorm where they hid behind a particularly large sand dune. Asuna noticed something strange. There were no shadows. She looked over to Maki and noticed the same thing. As a matter of fact, there was no trace of shade ANYWHERE. That wasn't right. There's always shade somewhere. As the sandstorm ended she spoke up.

"Makie, where is all the shade?" she asked.

She looked around.

"I heard in some places that when the sun is directly overhead, shadows don't stretch or elongate but instead stay directly underneath a person" Makie said.

"...And you're a Baka Ranger because...?" Asuna said with a sweatdrop.

"I heard Takahata-sensei say it last year" Makie said.

"Oh. Well do you notice we have NO shadows?" Asuna said, pointing below Makie.

Makie looked down an gasped. She really had no shadow. That was strange. It was strange that while inside a building there was a sun in the first place but no shadows was pushing it a little.

"Where is the sunlight coming from anyway?" Makie asked as she looked around.

"From the sun, DUH!" Asna said as she pointed at the sun int he sky.

"Are you sure? for some reason, I feel as though the light is coming from somewhere else" she said.

At that exact moment, the sand suddenly shifted. Asuna and Makie fell down from the jolt. A large hole had appeared out of nowhere and all the sand was pouring down there with Asuna and Makie being dragged with it. They ran as fast as they could in the falling sand but even with their best efforts, they were slowly getting pulled further and further in.

_**With Yue and Kaede**_

"Are you alright Yue-dono?" Kaede called out over the giant mountain of books.

"I-I'm fine" Yue huffed as they reached the top.

They looked on. Everywhere they look, all they see are mountains. There were even birds and clouds. The only problem is that you can only keep going over them. You climb up one mountain, you go back down only to climb another one. there was no end in sight. Yue had never been to this area before. Normally, she's probably be happy reading all the books but at the moment...

"Looks like there are still more-de gozaru" Kaede said, sweating a little.

"Ugh, I am really starting to hate mountains" Yue complained.

"I think I should bring Negi-dono to train with me here" Kaede said.

"That's great for you but I am gettign thirsty and there's no vending machine in sight" she librarian complained.

Kaede sweatdropped. Her friend loved to taste weird drinks that for some odd reason, the library vending machines always sold. Getting down a mountain as easy. Climbing back up was hard. Kaede and Yue both took extremely large human-sized books from the mountain.

"Ready-de gozaru?" the ninja asked.

"As I'll ever be" Yue responded.

They hopped on top of the books and book-boarded down. Kaede launched into the air and did a front flip before landing back down. Yue got launched as well and spun 3 times before landing. Yue apparently learned to book-board a while back and Kaede had taken snowboarding lessons for training. It was the easiest way down the mountain. They sped up as though in a race. Yue smirked as the bottom became clear. Kaede sped up a little, Yue was a formidable opponent. They both hopped into the air and landed in a photo finish...or they would if they had cameras.

"Haa, looks like you won this time-de gozaru" Kaede said as she snapped her fingers.

"Been doing this since day one. Me, Nodoka, and Haruna "surfed" on the books many times" Yue said proudly.

"Despite looking un-athletic, the Library Expedition Club had it's own benefits" Kaede observed.

They turned to the next mountains. They picked which one they wanted to climb and took out the gear. Kaede would run up ninja style and stick the hook in as Yue climbed up. If Yue got tired, Kaede just carried her. After a while, they made it to the top once more. This time they took a rest.

"The view is great" Yue said.

"Nin Nin" the ninja agreed with her strange phrase.

"What does "Nin Nin" mean anyway?" Yue asked.

"I use it as a sign of approval. You know like when people say "yeah" or "yes"" Kaede said.

Yue looked around as Kaede admired the view. She looked at the birds for a bit. Why were birds in the library anyway? Yue took a closer look. She noticed something odd about them. They were standing on the mountain yet weren't on them. Upon closer inspection, she noticed they were actually floating. They didn't even have nests for that matter.They were just standing in mid-air. She picked up a book and tossed it in their direction. They didn't even try to fly away.

"What are you doing-de gozaru?" Kaede asked.

"Look at those birds" she pointed out.

Kaede looked.

"They aren't standing on anything" she continued.

"Yes they are, they're standing on the moun-...wait..." Kaede's eyebrows showed their surprise as they rose up, her eyes always squinted.

"I even threw a book at them and they didn't move" Yue said.

Kaede took a book and threw it. she had better aim then Yue so she actually hit the bird. It didn't do anything. It just stood there. For a moment they wondered if it was real. It must have been since it didn't break or anything and it was moving and chirping...err...squawking. That was not normal. Suddenly, without warning, the mountain shook. It was so rough that they could even stand. Mountains started crumbling one by one. A large hole had been torn into the ground, by the earthquake which hadn't stopped. Kaede and Yue's mountain was crumbling as well. They were going to fall into the large gaping hole and couldn't avoid it.

_**With Konoka and Yuna**_

"This tunnel is creeping me out" Yuna said as she walked along.

"You sure seem to be frightful these days" Konoka observed.

"Wha-what are you talking about?" the basketball player said.

"You were never afraid of dark places before" Konoka said as she held up the candle she found a few minutes ago.

"I-I'm not afraid!" Yuna protested.

They had been wandering the tunnel for a while. Konoka found a wax candle and candle holder a while back and Yuna happened to have a lighter with her. They saw many split pathways. They felt kind of like ants in the ground. Every step they took could be heard echoing back at them. After Yuna's encounter with Sayo, she was sticking really close to the girl in front of her. She wonders how she got herself into the situation. If she hadn't decided a late night walk was a good thing she probably would be at home comfortably. Of course this adventure kept her excited and on her toes, she can't handle strange phenomenons two days in a row. Konoka was worried about the others. They hadn't seen one person or living creature for that matter since they got there.

"Ah. Another 3 way split" Konoka said as they approached one.

"Which way do we go this time?" Yuna said.

"This time I will use my divination to find the way!" Konoka said as she started concentrating.

Yuna looked at Konoka expectantly until...

"Eeny Meeny Miney Moe!" Konoka said with her usual happy-go-lucky expression.

Yuna fell flat on her back. Konoka was SUCH a great fortune teller. They followed the path she chose anyway.

"Say Konoka, I always thought you would be afraid to do these kinds of things" Yuna said.

"And I expected you to be running off leading the way" Konoka said "Really, is something bothering you Yuna?"

"I already said nothings wrong!" Yuna yelled.

Konoka stared at her with sad looking puppy eyes. (WARNING! BEWARE KONOKA'S SAD PUPPY EYES!)

_"I...I can withstand it! I can endure! I will...not fall for it! NO! NO! NO!...NO...NO...no...no...n-no...GAHHHHH!" _Yuna thought before she finally broke down.

"ALRIGHT ALRIGHT! I'LL TELL YOU! Just enough with that face!" Yuna yelled covering her eyes.

Konoka held up a "V" for Victory sign with her fingers.

"Yesterday when I ran off to save Negi-sensei, the school was locked with a large bolt lock and I couldn't get in. I tired picking it but I couldn't. It suddenly got really cold and the lock just froze and broke!" Yuna said.

Konoka looked a little surprised but didn't see how that was scary.

"That's not all, when I got to the control room, the door was locked again and I couldn't get inside. I thought maybe a ghost opened the first door so I yelled out "Pull the switch" and a second later the switch in the room just started cranking down until it went all the way!" Yuna said, her eyes looking REALLY freaked out.

"A poltergeist!" Konoka gasped.

"THAT'S WHAT I THOUGHT TOO!" Yuna yelled out.

That explained why Yuna was a little freaked out int he dark right now. I mean even with the candles, they still couldn't see the walls...wait...what?! Konoka looked at the walls. She went right up to them. She held the candle in front and looked for some shiny reflection indicating paint. She didn't see anything. Even though she had a candle, the light didn't reach the walls even when it was up close. That's impossible.

"What are you doing Konoka?" Yuna asked.

"Look, the wall!" Konoka pointed at it with the candle nearby.

"What about it? I can't even see it. Put the candle closer" she said.

"I'm putting the candle on the wall. It's can't get any closer" Konoka said creepily.

"Wha? I-Is it painted black?" Yuna asked.

"No" was all Konoka got to say before a rumbling was heard.

Yuna and Konoka looked ahead. The rumbling got closer until...A GIANT ROLLING BOULDER CAME DOWN! It was rolling right at them! They ran **(Cue Indiana Jones Music) **away from the giant stone that was about to crush them. They ran back but noticed something funny. The floor back was gone and there was only a large hole. They had to jump in before the boulder hit them.

"Jump?" Yuna asked.

"JUMP!" Konoka yelled as she hopped in, Yuna following close behind.

* * *

**Me: Oooooooh! Cliffhanger! 4 of them! What will become of them all?! You have to find out on the next chapter!**

**Sayo: Awww! Tell me what happens!!**

**Asuna: I think I have sand in my panties!**

**Yuna: How did I end up in all of this?!**

**Me: Read and Review folks. Chapter 5 coming soon!**


	5. V Library Journey Part II

**Me: Hey everyone! Hope you liked the last chapter. Sorry about the cliff hanger but I wanted the Library Arc to at least go 2 chapters. You don't mind right? I mean it's a whole new Library experience after all. Nothing like the manga but I hope it doesn't leave you feeling slightly unsatisfied like I felt. I mean who KNOWS what's in that Library. By the way, no a side not, those three books from chapter 4 that the threw in the lake you should at least recognize the first. In order they were the Necronominon, Death Note (In Latin), and Holy Bible (In Greek).  
**

**Sayo: We're gonna diiiiiiie!**

**Ku Fei: SAVE US-ARUYO!!**

**Negi: Help uuusssssss!!**

**Me: (Blocks out all the screaming) Umm...don't pay attention to that ehehe. Now I want...Chizuru to say the disclaimer.**

**Chizuru: My my. TS doesn't own Mahou Sensei Negima but he can have this spring union.**

**Me: Umm, not thanks. I got one...(Shoves Negi back in the waterfall)**

* * *

_**With Negi, Ku Fei, and Sayo**_

The waterfall was getting closer! Negi and Ku Fei tried to desperately swim in the opposite direction as Sayo was trying to push Negi to help. The current however had other plans. It kept getting stronger as they resisted. Ku Fei and Negi were both exhausted.

"M-Master Ku...don't think I can keep this up any longer" Negi gasped as he spit out some water.

"Me neither-aruyo" Ku Fei said.

They tried to get a grip on the side of the walls but they were slowly slipping. Negi really didn't want to resort to magic right now. I meant falling to your doom or living life as an ermine weren't exactly very fun options. Even if he did you magic, he could never stay with his class. He couldn't live with Ku Fei and learn martial arts. He would get his stuff confiscated like his staff...wait a minute!

"Quick, Master Ku! Stab the spear into the wall!" Negi said.

She didn't know why but she jammed it in as hard as she could. The spear stuck out of the wall. Negi took his staff and reinforced it with a little Earth type magic and jammed in a little below the spear. It left the two things sticking right out like a sideways number 2 in roman numerals (II). Negi pushed Ku Fei over to the side and pulled Sayo closer. Ku Fei saw what he did. It was like an impromptu wall. One above to stop the top part of their bodies and one below to stop the low middle. They were safe for the moment.

"Sayo-san. Can you try and go as far as you can and see if there are any other paths besides that waterfall?" Negi whispered in Sayo's ear.

"O-Okay" Sayo said as she flew off past the waterfall.

Negi was confident that she could at least find another way...at least until she got back a second later.

"There is no other way. It's only downwards from here" she said.

"...Then check to wear the waterfall leads" Negi said.

Sayo nodded and flew off then down the waterfall. He had a good feeling that they were supposed to go down the waterfall.

"Negi-kun, what do you think we should do now?" Ku Fei asked him.

"I'm not exactly sure. Give me a minute to think about it" Negi said.

A minute was all he needed as Sayo returned.

"There is a large body of water under the waterfall. No sharp rocks or anything so and it's deep so I'm sure it's safe" Sayo said.

"Good" Negi said as he suddenly grabbed on to Ku Fei.

"Wh-What are you doing at a time like this!" she yelled, clearly embarrassed.

"Hold on Master, I think we need to fall down that waterfall!" Negi yelled as he yanked out both the spear and the staff.

Ku Fei had no time to react. The current apparently had been trying to break the staff and spear and had sped up even more. Sayo had to fly as fast as she could to keep up with them. It only took a second for them to fall off. Negi had hung onto Ku Fei as they fell. A minute later he saw the lake-like pool at the bottom. They landed with a large splash. Sayo floated down gently as they resurfaced.

"That...was...AWESOME! Let's do that again-aruka!" Ku Fei yelled.

"Are you CRAZY!?" Negi yelled back.

"I see land" Sayo called out as she pointed to a shore.

"Ah! Land!" Negi indicated to Ku Fei.

They both crawled onto the ground in front of them. They were REALLY tired of swimming. They took a break to rest and to dry off. Sayo found a pile of driftwood, probably from old bookshelves. When Ku Fei turned around he set it on fire with a basic fire spell. He had a lighter but it was too wet to work at the moment. They sat there staring into the fire for a while.

"I hope the others are doing better then us" Negi said.

"They can survive very well-arune. I'm sure none of them are in too much trouble" Ku Fei said.

"Negi-sensei, should I go take a look ahead?" Sayo said.

"Oh, yes please. Thank you Sayo-san" he whispered to the ghost.

"Be careful" Sayo said as she floated off.

They sat in silence for a minute as the flames danced in front of them. They stared entranced for a few minutes before Negi broke the silence.

"Master Ku, do you know what time it is?" Negi asked.

"Umm, nope-aru" Ku Fei said.

"Dang, the test is in 3 more days. I hope we don't miss it being stuck in here" he sighed.

"I think we should be happy to live after being in here-aruka" she replied.

"Well, that is good but I don't want to leave Mahora" he whined.

"L-Leave Mahora?! Why would you leave?!" she looked horrified.

"You didn't know? I thought you all came here because you knew that if you got last place on the exams I would be fired!" he gaped.

"We didn't know that-aruka!!" she said looked even more shocked.

"Well I am. If you all hit last place again, I'll get sent back to Wales" he said sadly.

"Then what are we sitting around here for-aruyo? Let's go already" she said as she stood.

"At least dry off first" he said as he placed his hand on her shoulder and sat her back down.

She listened to him. They sat there, drying off for a while. Sayo came back a little while later.

"I went as far as I could. Looks like there is a little light so you should be able to go on. I couldn't go very far though" she reported.

"That's good enough, Thank you Sayo-san" Negi whispered before turning to Ku Fei "Alright, I think we should get going now"

She nodded and picked up the spear and hooked it onto her back. Negi did the same with the staff. They put out the fire and left as Sayo led the way.

_**With Asuna and Makie**_

"AHH! MAKIE! NOO!" Asuna yelled as Makie started sinking further in.

"C-Catch Asuna!" Makie yelled as she flung her ribbon.

Asuna caught the pink ribbon and pulled Makie up to where she was. Thanks to Asuna's paper route, her legs were strong enough for her to run up the sand pit slightly. Makie was barely following. The hole seemed to get bigger though.

"Ahh! I think the hole grew!" Makie yelled.

"You idiot! The whole didn't grow! We got closer!" Asuna yelled as she started running as fast as she could.

Despite her best efforts however, it wasn't good enough. It was probably her imagination but she could have sworn the sand was moving faster. They were getting closer and couldn't do anything about it.

"AUUUUUUGH!" Asuna yelled as she did a final desperation run.

Makie just hung on to Asuna. If Asuna was on land right now, only a race car could catch up with her. The heat from the seemed to sap her energy.

"Ugh...huh...can't...anymore" Asuna said, exhaustion kicking in.

Makie started pulled her friend as hard as she could.

"Don't give up now!" she cried, tears streaming out of her eyes.

It was then the sand seemed to finally get annoyed. A large avalanche-like pile of sand wash down. Makie had two choices. Get buried in sand and die...or jump in the sand pit and possibly die. She inwardly cried. Both options weren't good. The avalanche was upon them. She jumped in the pit, taking Asuna with her. Makie and Asuna now know what water in a straw feels like. They felt constricted by the sand as it scraped against them uncomfortably. Makie could swear there was more sand in her panties then in her hair. A second later, they felt themselves fall out the of sand and onto solid ground.

"OOF" Makie grunted as she landed on her butt.

SMASH! Asuna had landed on her head.

"W-Where are we?" Makie said as she looked around.

It was like a giant ancient ruin. There were old buildings and towers that looked like ancient civilizations. Vines grew everywhere with the moss and the mixture of sand and grass felt pretty good. The air was a lot cooler and Asuna could swear she felt a breeze. She got up as well and stood next to Makie.

"This place looks nice. I wouldn't mind getting lost in here" Asuna said as she looked around.

"Look, an apple tree!" Makie said pointing to a tree with the sweet red apples.

She used her ribbon to pick a good bunch off the tree. They didn't notice how hungry they were until they started eating. In a few minutes, about 15 apples were gone. Asuna and Makie let out a satisfied sigh.

"Ahh, I feel so rejuvenated" Asuna sighed happily.

"This is much better compared to the desert" Makie said.

"I know, but what IS this place? This Library is INSANE" the red-head said with a moan.

"I know! Lakes made of books, shelves as big as mountains, now there are different environments" the pinkette moaned.

"Speaking of books, where are they? This is still the Library right?" Asuna said with wonder, noticing that after getting dropped in the desert that the books had disappeared.

"Umm...there are some" Makie pointed out an ancient shelf.

"I guess some books get their own environment. Like Ancient books get an Ancient Civilization or maybe it depends on where the books were found" Asuna pointed out.

"That's probably it. I'm more worried about the others right now. We should get moving and look for them" Makie said.

"Alright alright, lets take some apples with us though. We still have water, might as well bring food too" Asuna said picking a bunch of apples.

"You sure are good at this. You remember to get water and even think of packing food" Makie praised.

"Haha, I used to go camping a lot when I was little and Takahata-sensei taught me this stuff" Asuna said rubbing the back of her head in embarrassment.

"I would never have though of that. I'm lucky you know how to survive or else I would be dead by now" Makie said ominously.

"Don't say that! You probably will live even without me...although it would have been through a WHOLE LOT of mirages" Asuna said.

They finished packing food and walked along. They walked throughout the area, searching and admiring the old buildings. This place would make a good vacation. They chanced upon an open spring shortly after.

"Umm...Maybe we should take a bath. I mean I think I still have pant in my clothes" Makie said, moving a little uncomfortably.

"I agree" Asuna said with a sweatdrop as Makie took off her boots and a large pile of sand poured out.

The spring was nice. It was deep enough to swim in and it wasn't overly cold. It felt like a normal pool. Asuna and Makie sighed happily.

"It's official. Good scenery, edible food, water, and a cool bath. I don't wanna leave" Asuna said.

"I know. I wonder if the others have it as good as us" Makie said.

_**With Ku Fei, Sayo, and Negi**_

"IT'S A SPEAR TRAP!" Negi yelled.

"AIYAAAAH!" Ku Fei yelled as she ran.

"RUN SENSEI RUN!" Sayo yelled.

Behind them, hundred of large spears and arrows were shooting at them from the walls. They tried their best to dodge them. They came upon a two way split.

"Quick! The right one!" Negi yelled.

The rain of sharp projectiles ceased as they ran around the corner.

_**Back with Asuna and Makie**_

"Yea, if we have it this good I'm sure they are perfectly fine" Asuna said.

They relaxed as they washed the sweat and sand off of themselves and shook out the sand from their clothes. After a little while they went off again. They found what appeared to be an ancient plaza. All the roads in the town seemed connected to it and they all went off in one last direction. The two of them took the only path foward and proceeded on. Before they headed anywhere, they heard some voices behind them.

"Asuna! Makie!"

"Makie! Asuna!"

_**With Yue and Kaede**_

"Hold on Yue-dono!" Kaede said as she picked up the small librarian.

Kaede jumped from book to book getting away from the crumbling mountain. She quietly mourned that she never got to get even with Yue in their bookboarding score (Yue: 27 wins. Kaede: 26 wins). She hopped on every book she could find that kept them airborne. The shaking was causing most of the the books on the mountains to get flung in the air so it wasn't a problem. The actual problem was that the quake seems to keep enlarging the hole. It almost seemed as though it was chasing them. Her ninja skills in that situation was doing wonders. Yue looked down, watching the large crater run along the ground.

"What a waste of books" she said sadly.

"I think you should worry more for out safety then then books-de gozaru" Kaede said.

"I'm amazed that this place is so big. You've been jumping for a while now and we haven't seen so much as a wall" Yue noted.

"This does not feel like an ordinary library" Kaede said.

It was at this moment that suddenly, the mountains disappeared. Well not disappear but end as they reached an open plain. Unfortunately that would mean they had to land on the ground. Which right now, by the time they land, the crater would swallow them up.

"This is not good!" Yue yelled.

"Hang on tight Yue-dono. I have an idea-de gozaru" Kaede said.

As soon as the books ran out, Kaede performed her signature clone jutsu. The clones all appeared below her. She started using them as stepping stones to stay in the air. The clones would push her up as she landed on them and then disappear as Kaede made more in front. Yue was impressed at her quick thinking.

"How long can you keep this up?" Yue asked.

"To stay airborne like this...I would have to say at least half an hour" she said, sweating slightly.

Making clones continuously like this was making the ninja tired. She couldn't rest otherwise they would be devoured by the pursuing crater. The quake was not letting up anytime soon.

"Kaede, start moving to the left" Yue ordered.

Kaede did. She made her clone fling her to the left and proceeded. The crater made an abrupt turn to the left as well.

"The crater really is following us" Yue said.

"Do you think we are supposed to fall into it?" Kaede asked.

"I think so. If we keep this up, when we finally do fall there might be more injuries then if we went down willingly" Yue said.

"So we head down-de gozaru?" Kaede asked.

Yue nodded. Kaede started making the clones lower and lower so that as she went down, it was slow. They went near the ground slowly and entered the dark chasm. With a final hop, Kaede jumped keeping Yue in her arms.They fell downwards for a minute, the dark falling over them until they suddenly reappeared in another area. The hole above them was gone! The area below...looked like an ancient civilization. Moss, vines, trees, ruins, and everything else. Kaede landed as softly as a cat. She let her passenger down and looked around.

"This place keeps getting more and more interesting" she said.

"Hey look, grape vines and a banana tree" Yue pointed out.

"Banana tree? I don't think they can grow in this environment-de gozaru" Kaede said.

It didn't matter since Yue had already picked a few and was eating it. Kaede sweatdropped but grabbed a few grapes as well. They tasted good. Really ripe and plump with a bright purple color. They had their fill then took a few for later.

"This place looks to be safe. I don't sense any danger" Kaede said.

"I see a pathway over there" Yue pointed out.

Kaede walked over. They followed the trail until they hit a split. They took the left. Then they hit a 3 way split. They took the right. They hit a 5 way split.

"If I see one more split I'm gonna scream" Yue said irritably.

"This place seems to be full of old pathways and streets. Maybe I should get a higher view-de gozaru" Kaede said.

She hopped on top of a tall building and looked around. There was no one in sight at the moment. She looked on, remembering the pathways leading to what appeared to be a plaza of sorts. She figured they should probably head in that direction. She hopped down in front of her friend.

"I see a plaza a long ways ahead. It should take at least an hour to reach-de gozaru" Kaede explained.

"Alright, lets go" Yue said.

Kaede pointed in the right direction along the way. The pathways seemed a little old and some of them went through buildings and tunnels. They had to climb a few times and swim through a glistening lake.

"That water was amazingly clear" Yue said as she walked out of the lake.

"It would appear that there is some kind of natural filter of sorts in the bottom" Kaede said.

"I wonder who build this place" Yue said.

"...They sort of resemble the Aztecs" Kaede said.

"No no, it couldn't be. There would be giant alters everywhere. You know, where they sacrificed humans but ripping out their hearts" Yue explained.

"Ahh, you sure know a lot-de gozaru" Kaede praised.

"It's nothing. We had better get moving" Yue said.

They walked along. An hour later they finally reached the plaza. At this, Kaede stopped Yue.

"I sense something Yue-dono" she warned as they hide behind a building.

They waited. Footsteps could be heard after a small amount of time. The next second, a familiar tinkling of a well and small bush of pink hair came around the corner. Asuna and Makie were walking in front of them.

"Asuna! Makie!" Kaede called out.

"Makie! Asuna!" Yue did the same.

The other pair turned around to see them running and waving.

"YUE!" Makie called.

"KAEDE!" Asuna finished.

"We found you!" Makie said as she hugged Kaede and Yue.

"Where have you guys been!" Yue asked.

"That's a LONG story" Asuna said.

"I think we have time" Kaede said as she pried Makie off of her.

_**With Konoka and Yuna**_

"WHOA!" Yuna yelled as she landed in a large body of water.

"Ahh!" Konoka followed.

They both resurfaced. Yuna looked up to find that the hole disappeared.

_"This place just keeps getting weirder and weirder" _Yuna thought.

"Ahh, the water is cold" Konoka said.

"Be glad we landing in SOMETHING!!" Yuna yelled, tears streaming down her face.

"Is something wrong Yuna?" Konoka asked.

"WRONG?! No! Of course not! It's just I'm stuck in a library, in SOME kind of TUNNEL, and could have been at home asleep or something" Yuna said as she cried in the corner, imaginary depression lines above her head.

Konoka patted her on the back.

"It's alright Yuna. When we find the others we will be ok" Konoka said.

"We almost got hit with a boulder! How are you sure the others aren't flat as pancakes right now?!" Yuna whined.

"That's why we need to find them" Konoka said.

"Fine fine. I see land over there. Let's dry off" Yuna said.

They swam to the bit of land and shook themselves of excess water. Yuna found some driftwood and tried to ignite it.

"Dang, my matches are wet" she complained.

"I have a waterproof lighter" Konoka said as she pulled it out.

"Why do you carry around a lighter?" Yuna asked before taking it.

"Just in case I need to burn something" Konoka smiled.

_"Can SOMEONE say "Pyromaniac"?" _Yuna thought with a sweatdrop.

They dried around the fire for a little bit before noticing the tunnel near them. There were torches hanging from the walls which they could clearly see. Yuna seemed to have shook off her initial "I was nearly killed" mood and was back to her usual self.

"Ohhh, this place is like some underground cavern of some evil cult" Yuna said.

"Or the emergency exit" Konoka added.

"You are a true optimist aren't you?" her friend sighed.

They proceeded into the tunnel. Yuna watched behind them as Konoka kept in front. They didn't want to run into another trap. They walked along until they came across a 4 way intersection.

"Which way do we go?" Konoka asked.

"Hmm...I pick center left" Yuna said.

They entered that way and continued along. Yuna was getting really tired of the dark tunnel.

"Say Konoka, your grandfather's the dean right?" she asked.

"Yep" her friend answered.

"Has he ever been in here?" she continued.

"Umm...I'm not really sure" Konoka answered uncertainly.

"He lets the students enter the library all the time so I thought he might not know there were tunnels everywhere. I mean, it's not exactly...safe" Yuna said.

"Yeah but I'm sure he thinks that students can learn around here. I mean the lobby before you enter the first floor had open skylights and even a drinking bar (non alcoholic drinks of course). There are places to just sit and read" Konoka said.

"Yeah but shouldn't he at LEAST know how dangerous this place is?" she continued once more.

"Probably. I'll have to ask him when we get out" Konoka answered.

"IF we get out" Yuna corrected.

"Right" she said.

They continued along the way. It was then Yuna felt a switch under her foot.

"Not again!" Yuna yelled.

At that moment, large pillars of rock started falling from the ceiling at random places quickly headed for them.

"AHHH! RUUUUUN!" Yuna yelled.

Konoka didn't need telling twice. They ran as fast as they could as the stone pillars smashed into the ground behind them. Konoka accidentally stepped on another switch switch as what looked like tranquilizer darts started shooting from the walls! Now they ran from pillars and dodged flying darts.

"WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS PLACE?!" Yuna yelled out.

"AH!" Konoka yelled as a dart barely scrapped her.

Up ahead, Yuna spotted a two way intersection. She just randomly picked one.

"TO THE RIGHT!" Yuna yelled.

They fled as fast as their feet could carry them into the right tunnel. The pillars and darts stopped after then entered. Yuna and Konoka didn't notice and kept running. They ran...and ran...and ran until...**KA-WHAM!! **They ran smack into something.

"Ugh, what hit me" said a male voice.

"Aaaaaah" came a different female voice.

Konoka, Yuna, Negi, and Ku Fei all opened their eyes at once.

"KONOKA-SAN?! YUNA-SAN?!" Negi cried out in shock.

"NEGI-KUUUN!" Konoa cried happily as she embraced the boy.

"Ku Fei! Negi-sensei!" Yuna greeted.

"Ahh, hello-aruyo! We found you...but we don't remember either of you coming" Ku Fei said in confusion.

Sayo floated overhead as the four chatted about what they just went through. She recognized Yuna immediately while at the same time, Yuna had a sudden chill despite Sayo not doing anything. Yuna looked in her direction with a look of confusion and uncertainty before shaking her head, an action in which Negi did not miss. Negi looked at Sayo with an "I think you better explain later" look.

"So that's how we ended up here" Konoka finished.

"Wow, you two were lucky if you ask me" Negi said.

"I know-aruyo! We fell down a waterfall!" Ku Fei said.

"A WATERFALL?!" Yuna yelled "This place is crazy!"

"I know how you feel" Negi said with tears streaming down his face.

"At least we've been reunited" Konoa said looking to the positives.

"Yes, that's a good thing" Negi said.

"Well what now-aruka? We can't go back and we can't go foward" Ku Fei said.

"Umm...there's a passageway over here" Sayo pointed out to Negi.

"Huh...where did that passageway come from" he said as he looked over there.

"What passagewa- what the" Yuna said as she jumped up.

"That wasn't there before" Ku Fei said.

"Let's see what's that way" Konoka said getting up and started to enter.

The others got up as well and chased after her. They were pretty sure the dean would be mad if they told him they lost his granddaughter in a labyrinth of complex tunnels in the library and that possibly finding her could probably take months by which time she could be starving, sick, or dead. They walked as a close group to keep alert from all directions with Sayo at the top watching and to keep a good view in front of the others to warn Negi faster. Every now and then someone would kick a pebble and they would all jump in case it was a switch. After a while they relaxed their guard a bit. Negi noticed Yuna looking at Sayo, or the part of ceiling Sayo was nearby.

"S-Say, Yuna-san, why are you staring at the ceiling?" Negi asked as they walked along.

"Wha? Oh! Ahh, I-it's nothing. I just keep getting the feeling that something is just...THERE. Ya know? Like that weird feeling as though someone is watching you or like you feel a presence but when you turn around there's nothing" Yuna tried to explain.

Sayo overheard their conversation. She couldn't tell whether to be relieved or sad. Negi just felt relieved. If she could see Sayo, he would have ALOT of explaining to do as to why he can already see her. He and Sayo locked eyes for a second, almost as though Negi was apologizing.

"D-Don't be ridiculous Yuna. There's no such things as ghosts...ehehe..." Negi said nervously.

"I never said anything about ghosts" Yuna said.

Negi thought as fast as his prodigy level brain could think.

"M-Most people only say that when they talk about ghosts" Negi said quickly.

Yuna thought for a moment. He's right, most people usually do. For a second she thought he knew there was a ghost there. She shrugged it off and continued walking.

"I see something ahead-aru" Ku Fei spoke up.

Everyone rushed to whatever Ku Fei had seen. They entered a small circular area with 4 other pathways and a monument in the middle. Each pathway had a a small stone tablet at the top of the entrance. Negi read the monument.

"You who seek to reunite, pick the path you think is right. But be wary of the paths, for 3 will lead to red bloodbaths. To choose the path that is correct, pick the animal who can erect" Negi read aloud.

Negi heard a sudden gasp. He turned around to see Konoka point to the tablets on the doorways. 4 pictures showed up, 1 on each door. On the left, a bear. On the center left, a beaver. On the center right, mouse. On the right, a dog. As he stared at the pictures, Yuna spoke up.

"Hey Negi-sensei, I think there's more writing on the tablet" she said.

Negi and Konoka both went over there. They looked at the words to notice a fine-print of sorts.

"Negi-kun, can you read it?" Konoka asked.

"A-A little bit but only the first half, it's kind of small" Negi said.

"Really? How far into the sentence?" she asked.

"About...here" he pointed with his finger.

"I can read there. You read the first part, I can't see it for some reason" she said.

"Alright...umm...P.S. Who ever reads this phrase cannot..." Negi started.

"Answer the riddle..." Konoka finished.

"Wait...that didn't rhyme-aru" Ku Fei said.

At that moment, both Negi and Konoka suddenly fell onto the ground. Ku Fei and Sayo ran over to check on Negi as Yuna checked on Konoka. They still felt a pulse. They sighed with relief.

"They went to sleep" Yuna said.

"Wake up Negi-kun-aru" Ku Fei shook him.

...He didn't wake up.

"Negi-kun?" she continued except harder.

...He still didn't move.

"NEGI-KUN!" she picked him up and shook him.

...He was foaming att he mouth but was still asleep. Sayo put her hands on him. Negi shivered but still nothing.

"I don't think either of them will wake up until we solve the riddle" Yuna said as she read the riddle once more, ignoring the fine print.

They both inwardly started to cry. Konoka was in the top 100 smartest in the school, although she didn't seem like it. Negi was a child prodigy. Why did the two smart people get conked out.

_**With Asuna, Kaede, Makie, and Yue**_

Asuna and Makie had just finished telling their little adventure story. Yue and Kaede had large sweatdrops on their heads. Compared to being in a desert, being stuck on a mountain is nothing.

"You say there was a water fountain...in the desert? Like...just...THERE? Or was it connected to something" Yue asked.

"It was just THERE! Right smack dab in the middle of nowhere! It made no sense" Asuna yelled, getting her point across.

"I know! There had to have at least been a pipeline or something" Makie said.

"It was probably buried underneath the sand-de gozaru" Kaede said.

"What kind of idiot puts a water fountain in the middle of a desert anyway!?" Asuna yelled.

"Well, since the books appear to have environments depending on where they were found, I would have to say the kind who would read in a desert" Yue said.

"I'm getting hungry. Can I have an apple?" Makie asked Asuna.

"We have bananas and grapes if you want-de gozaru" Kaede offered.

"Oh, you picked some food too!" Makie said as she took a handful of grapes.

"I think I see some ripe strawberries and a spring over there" Yue pointed out.

"Strawberries!" Makie giggled happily as she ran over there, picked a few, washed them off then ate one.

"It's strange how all the food around here is edible" Kaede pointed out.

"What do you mean?" Asuna asked.

"I mean we can just pick it right off the gound...err...vine or tree and it's all ripe and fresh" Kaede explained as she showed that the bananas didn't have a single brown spot of them and were perfectly yellow.

"Wow, you're right. That is weird" Asuna said as she took it and ate it.

"Don't eat it all, we don't know how long we've been in here so we need to conserve food" Yue said. **(It's been a whole day. 3 days left)**

"It's just as you said. We don't know how long we've been in here either so I wanna eat to make sure I last" Makie said taking a bite of strawberry.

Yue smacked her own forehead. Why did she get stuck with them. Kaede was okay but Asuna and Makie never seem to listen to her. Yue looked up into the sky. It never got dark and the sun never moved. Time was practically stopped around here. Yue sighed. She usually loved to stay at the library but she never stayed for so long...nor got lost in some strange place. It intrigued her and scared her at the same time. She never imagined herself getting lost so far in. When she went exploring, she had Nodoka and Haruna to remember the pathways back and thus never worried about having to find the exit. Now she was stuck and didn't know where to go and it...made her feel helpless.

_"There is nothing scarier to a human being then the feeling of complete helplessness..." _Yue thought in her mind.

Kaede watched as Asuna and Makie started fighting over the food and Yue appear to be in a meditative concentration. Kaede looked around by hopping on a tall structure. The area was wide and there did not appear to be a clear indication as to where they needed to go. It was literally a labyrinth. There were roads, there were branches of different roads, and there were dead ends. Everything winded all over the area and would probably take years for a person to try and map. Knowing this, she just memorized directions that looked safe. So far, the ruins proved peaceful. Someone probably didn't want perfect archaeological specimens destroyed by traps. But Kaede knew better, it was in a phrase "TOO peaceful". Since she was the strongest in the group, it was her job to protect them. If she didn't, Negi would probably kill her. She looked back down to see Yue waving at her. They were preparing to leave.

"You are done resting-de gozaru?" she asked.

"Yeah, we're done. Let's go" Asuna said.

They just followed her along. She may be in the lead, it was Kaede's directions everyone trusted. After traveling for a good...possibly 2 hours to Yue, Kaede noticed that all the pathways seemed to lead to one place. She scanned the horizon and confirmed it. Every branch led, every street, every road lead to what appeared to be a temple of sorts. She hopped back down to the group. She was about to inform them only to find them all dead asleep. She chuckled. They had been moving non-stop for who knows how long. She felt tired herself. She pulled them all into an ancient building to prevent them from getting attacked in their sleep or get sunburn if possible. She guessed a nap would be good. She found a comfortable patch of grass inside the floor-less house and dozed off.

_**Back to Ku Fei, Yuna, and Sayo (Negi and Konoka currently K.O.ed)**_

"Have you figured it out-aru?" Ku Fei asked.

"No..." Yuna said sadly.

They were still trying to make sense of the riddle. To them, it was pretty tough. Mainly because it was a biology kind of question and both happened to sleep during those classes. Sayo was trying to figure it out too but she wasn't exactly the kind to listen in class since no one could see or hear her anyway. She just floated near the pictures, staring at each one.

"Let's see...obviously it's one of the four animals up there...erect..erect...erect..." Yuna mumbled to herself.

"Oh oooh! I know what erect means!" Ku Fei yelled throwing her hand in the air.

"Really?! What did it mean?!" Yuna yelled.

"Easy! Well...you see -whisper whisper-...and when he...-whisper whisper-...and then they...-whisper whisper-" she whispered into Yuna's ear.

Yuna turned so red, the room practically lit up.

"WHAT THE HELL?! WHERE DID YOU LEARN THAT?!" Yuna yelled.

"Well, one time, I happened to wake up before the bell in biology"she said embarrassed.

"W-Well, if that's what that means then any of them could be right" Yuna pointed out.

"...Oh riiiiight-aruyo" Ku Fei snapped her fingers.

"Erect...I think it might have two meanings...Wait...didn't Negi-sensei teach us stuff like this in class? He said something like...umm...dang, I need to listen to him more often. It was in English...umm...he said something like...umm..."**Build**"...umm..." Yuna though as hard as she could.

"**Build**? Translate that into Japanese please" Ku Fei said.

"I'm trying! I'm trying! Ummm...AH!" Yuna said as an imaginary lightbulb popped over her head.

"You know what it means?" Ku Fei asked.

"Yes, I think. It's _"tatemasu"_! Erect means build! Which animal builds things?!" Yuna yelled out as she looked at the pictures.

"A-Ah! There are two of them-aruyo! The mouse builds a little home in buildings in the little hole and a beaver builds dams" Ku Fei said.

"Damn! Is there another clue?" Yuna asked.

"Umm...I think there might be more then just "**Build**". Can you remember the rest?" Ku Fei asked.

"I'm trying! Umm...wait! I know! When you erect or build something, it is built going up! Mice don't build going up! Only beavers can!" Yuna yelled as she pointed to the beaver door.

"How do you know?" Ku Fei asked.

Yuna blushed before answering "W-Well, I thought of what you said and it's like -whisper whisper-...and when it's...-whisper whisper-...it goes up and...-whisper whisper-"

It was Ku Fei's turn to blush madly as Yuna explained it. Above, Sayo had the urge to yell out "I didn't get to do anything!". All three heard groans from behind them. They must have answered correctly since Negi and Konoka were waking up.

"Unnn...WheamI?" Konoka slurred.

"Uhhhhhh...Wazgoinon?" Negi slurred as well.

"We did it! We solved the riddle!" Yuna yelled happily.

At the word riddle, Negi sat up immediately.

"The riddle! You solved it? What happened to us?" Negi asked.

"Well, we aren't sure how but you suddenly fell asleep" Sayo explained.

"Oh, you found out the answer was beaver?" Konoka said with a yawn.

Yuna, Ku Fei, and Sayo all sweatdropped. It took them nearly an hour to figure out that one riddle and she already had the answer after hearing it once. Negi agreed with Konoka on the answer. Yuna sighed. She did most of the work anyway. They picked the two sleeping beauties off the ground and continued on through the beaver entrance. They were right since not a trap was seen in the tunnel.

_**Back with Yue, Makie, Kaede, and Asuna**_

Makie awoke with a yawn. She felt so tired after eating. She looked around to see everyone else resting as well. She went outside for a minute to wash her face in the spring...until she saw what was outside. She fall on her back. On long poles hung Negi, Asuna, Nodoka, and Yuna's dead bodies. She backed up in horror. Eyes were wide open with blood trailing from their bodies. The lifeless eyes seemed to stare at her. She ran back inside...to find the others dead as well. Large puddles of blood had appeared beneath them. They looked asleep but were actually dead. She turned around, the sky had turned red and shadows were everywhere!

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!" Makie screamed as she jolted awake from her nightmare.

"HUH!? WHA?!" Asuna jolted at her scream.

"WHAT HAPPENED?!" Yue jumped up wide awake.

Kaede was calm as she woke up but her stance showed she was on high alert.

"I-I'm sorry guys. I had a really bad nightmare. You were all dead and the others were all dead!" Makie screamed.

"W-What? I had the same nightmare!" Yue said.

"I did as well-de gozaru" Kaede sait sweating slightly.

"I dreamt I was kissing Taka- errr...nothing" Asuna said.

"I read that when many people have the same dream...it's a premonition of things to come" Makie said, all the color from her drained while shivering in the corner.

"T-That's just superstition...right?" Asuna said although she did have a slight quiver in her voice.

"I think we should just go" Yue said.

Everyone decided to stop thinking about it...except Asuna who wondered why she didn't get the same dream. In her opinion, Makie felt the dream was telling them to hurry up. Despite saying it was just coincidence, everyone was moving a little faster then normal. Kaede told them that it didn't matter what patht hey took now since it all lead to the same place. They walked for about half an hour until the hit what was probably the main plaza. They stood in awe at the structure in front of them. The temple Kaede saw earlier...was HUGE. It was bigger then 5 of their schools put together. The other thing that caught their attention was the door. It was at the top of a set of stairs. A long set of stairs. It was like the kind of stairs that you think were no problem when you first see it but halfway on you would start thinking "Damn these are some long ass stairs" and you keep going because you don't wanna stall the other people behind you who were thinking the same thing but were being polite and you would feel bad and keep going until you hit the top and find out there was actually an elevator you could have taken but you were too excited and had ran to the stairs not noticing that the rest of your family had already headed for the elevator and you would sit there thinking" Damn, I could have taken the elevator instead" and your family would just start laughing at you making you feel embarrassed since there were complete strangers like right behind them and they could hear every word they said.

"For some reason...I want to shout out "What kind of dumbass made a stupid narration like that" Asuna muttered to herself.

"Did you say something Asuna-dono?" Kaede asked.

"Eh? Oh! No, I didn't say anything" she replied.

"I guess we go up those stairs" Makie said.

"Is there an elevator" Yue asked but the others caught a bit of a whine in her voice.

"Sorry Yue-dono. there isn't one-de gozaru" Kaede said.

Yue sighed but they all started walking up the stairs. Half way through all of them thought "Damn, these are some long ass stairs". They finally hit the top and looked through the temple doors. They backed up slightly. On the walls hung bones. Full human bones hanging on little hooks. They gulped slightly before slowly proceeding inside.

"I-I-Is it s-safe to go i-in here" Makie said as she hung closely to Asuna.

"Makie, don't be silly. These can't be real. Watch!" Asuna said as she walked up to one of them and tapped on the skull.

The skull broke from her light tap. It was real. Asuna jumped back from it.

"OH MY GOD! THEY'RE REAL!" she cried as she stuck closer to Kaede.

"Calm down. It's not like they're gonna jump on you" Yue said rationally.

Of course right as she said that, she stepped on a switch and a skeleton dropped from the ceiling hanging by a rope. Attached to it's hands was a small flashlight shining in it's face. Everyone stopped. When Yue didn't scream or anything, Kaede checked her. Yue looked the same except she wasn't blinking. Kaede waved her hands in front of her face.

"She fainted with her eyes open while standing up-de gozaru" Kaede said.

She looked back at the other two. They were on the floor. Kaede sweatdropped when she could have sworn she saw their souls ascending to heaven. She took a canteen and splashed them. As everyone woke back up, Asuna punched the skeleton.

"Who's idea was it to put a trap like that!" she yelled.

"We can use the flashlight though" Yue said as she picked it up from the skeleton's fallen form.

They continued on. The temple seemed to be full of traps. The first area looked safe. "Looked" being the key word. They knew better then to trust an empty room. They played a short game of rock-paper-scissors. Makie lost.

"Best 2 outta 3?" she asked nervously.

They sighed then played again. Makie lost...again.

"Best 3 outta 5?" she asked.

"JUST GET OUT THERE!" Asuna yelled as she kicked her.

Makie got flung into the room...nothing happened. Makie jumped around...still nothing. She kicked the walls...nothing. They shrugged. Guess it was just a normal room. They walked through together...still nothing. Yep, an empty room. They continued on with less worries until they hit another empty room. Makie ran intot here...and fell through the floor.

"GAH!" she yelled as Kaede held her by the arm.

Below Makie were sharp spears of bamboo. She gulped. The temple was making fun of her. She swore it was.

"Careful, there are pitfalls all over this floor" Yue warned.

"How do we know where it's safe?" Asuna asked.

"I guess you could try throwing rocks or something over the floor-de gozaru" Kaede suggested.

"I'm not walking in there again" Makie cried in the corner.

Asuna shrugged. She told them to wait a minute. She ran off and came back 2 minutes later holding the skulls from the first room.

"I couldn't find any rocks" she said.

They tossed the skulls across the floor. A few smashed on the ground while the rest either cracked or fell through the floor. Yue told them to follow where the skulls had broken to pieces or cracked. They did and cautiously walked through the 2nd room. As everyone started walking through, a crunching sound was heard. Dust fell from the ceiling. They looked up to see a bamboo spear-littered ceiling slowly descending on them.

"QUICK! TO THE DOORWAY!" Yue yelled.

"Be careful, this path seems narrow and I'm sure we didn't hit all the pitfalls. If you make one wrong move, you could d-" started Kaede but Asuna cut her off.

"DON'T SAY IT SO CASUALLY!"

"IT'S MOVING FASTER!" Makie yelled as she pointed to the ceiling.

"I feel like I'm in an "Indiana Jones" Movie" Yue grumbled with a sweatdrop.

The pathway seemed to wind all over the area before reaching the door. They won't make it at that rate.

"We have no choice. We need to jump from this platform to a closer one" Yue called out.

"W-What?!" Makie screamed as she caught herself from stepping in a hidden pitfall.

"THERE-DE GOZARU!" Kaede pointed to a narrow area where the holes around it indicated a pathway.

It was close to their path and slightly closer to the door. Asuna didn't think, she just let he instincts work. She jumped and landed, albeit wobbly. Makie took a better route and used her ribbon to grab onto a spear from the descending ceiling to swing across. Kaede picked Yue up and jumped, landing with trained grace. The door was less then 50 feet away. The ceiling was 20 feet and dropping fast. With a fast but cautious run, they ran towards the door. The ceiling was at 15 feet. They had hit 25 feet away from the door. Ceiling 10 feet away. Door 15 feet. Makie could reach up and probably feel the bamboo spears.

"EVERYONE JUMP!" Yue yelled as she dove.

Everyone did. They lunged for the doorway. Yue landed, then Makie, then Asuna. Kaede felt the spears graze her shirt before landing safely. They felt the rumble from when the spears hit the floor. Asuna was the first person to stand back up.

"I changed my mind. I NEVER want to come to this place again! Vacation or not!" she yelled.

They agreed and continued. Asuna lost the next game. She walked out slowly...and stepped on a really small switch. A large rock about the size of a bowling ball fell on top of her head.

"GAH!" Asuna yelled as the rock fell off and she clumsily take a step back.

A second rock fell down as she hit another switch. She quickly moved to the left. A large bowling ball sized slammed into her from the left.

"GUH!" she grunted in pain as she held her side and took another step in her daze.

A third switch was right there. She hopped back...and met another rock in the back.

"GOH!" she gasped out before falling on the floor unconscious.

The others sweatdropped.

"...Instant K.O...Flawless Victory..." Makie said as she used her ribbon to slowly drag the unconscious Asuna to the next room.

The next room seemed safe. Asuna had awoken and they once more place a game of rock-paper-scissors. Kaede lost that time. She jumped in...to a snake pit. The others gasped loudly.

"Kaede!" Makie screamed when she saw a rather large snake lunge at the ninja.

Kaede dodged to the side and pulled out four kunai from some hidden pocket and tossed them. 4 thrown, 4 snakes dead. Her aim was great but there were alot more snakes to take their places. She threw four more and killed off the same amount. She ran for the 8 dead snakes, jumping, sliding, sidestepping her way along. She grabbed the 8 she already threw and tossed them again.

"Why don't you just throw more!" Asuna yelled.

"Conserving energy or weapons and using as little possible energy is the key to any battle-de gozaru" Kaede yelled as she once more tossed the same 8 kunai from before.

The others cheered as they watched the number of snakes dwindle dramatically. There was one left and Kaede killed it. She turned to her friends but felt something enter her shoulder. A snake, hidden among the dead ones had bitten her. She killed it off as she grabbed her shoulder in pain. She took a good look at which snake it was as the others rushed over.

"_M-Mamushi_?!...Not good" Kaede said lowly as to not worry the others.

"Kaede! You got bit! Does it hurt?!" Makie yelled as she looked at the ninja's shoulder.

"Was that snake poisonous?" Asuna asked.

"I can't tell which one she killed" Yue said as she looked over the small pile.

"Don't worry, I'm fine. It wasn't a poisonous one" Kaede lied "We should get going"

"A-Alright, lets go" Yue said as they headed through to the other side.

_"Ungh...need to get...antidote soon" _Kaede thought.

She was using her _Ki _to force the poison from spreading. She could probably keep it up for 2...maybe 3 days tops but she can't fight for long or else she'll run out of power. She can't worry them now though. They needed to get out of the Library first before worrying about her. They entered the next room huffing. This was probably the final room. There was a stone tablet and four doorways. Each doorway had a slab on top. Yue walked up to the tablet int he middle.

"You who entered and strove to survive, choose the right door to get out alive. 3 are false as a politician, choose wisely or this will be your final mission. Choose the one that isn't a lie, which animal sees with the body, not an eye?" Yue read out.

"...Is it some kind of riddle?" Asuna asked.

At that moment, pictures appeared over the doorway. To the right, a bat. To the center right, a mole. To the center left, a platypus. To the left, a fish.

"Looks like it was-de gozaru" Kaede said with her hand still on her shoulder.

"Are you sure you're ok?" Asuna asked.

"I am, it just hurts a little to get bitten" Kaede said.

"Oh, right" she said.

"Animal that sees with the body...not an eye. That means one of these animals are blind or something along those lines" Yue said.

"Oh! Oh! I know! The bat! Like that phrase "As blind as a bat"!" Makie cried out.

"That can't be it. On questions like these, the most obvious answer is usually wrong" Yue said.

"Moles can see well" Asuna spoke up.

"How do you know that-de gozaru?" Kaede asked.

"Eheheh, Konoka made me take a gardening course to try and make me more "feminine" and I remember before I quit it that the teacher said that moles can't see and would tear through roots in the ground when they dug" she answered.

"There's a gardening class?" Makie asked.

"No, it was just a community service thing" Asuna said.

"We can get rid of the fish and the platypus" Kaede pointed out.

"The bat sees with that...umm...echo-rotation!" Makie said.

"It's echo-_location_ Makie" Yue said.

"Moles feel vibrations int he ground don't they-de gozaru?" Kaede asked.

"I'm not really sure, I walked out before that" Asuna said with an apologetic look.

"No it's right. I remember reading a book somewhere about that" Yue said recalling an earlier library experience.

"So which is it? The bat or the mole?" Makie whined.

"...Ah!" Yue said as a lightbulb appeared over her head.

"You got it?" Asuna asked.

"It's the mole! Bats have to use their ears to listen to their echoes! Moles use vibrations so their whole body feels it!" she snapped her fingers as the others had a sudden vision of her in glasses and a teacher's suit while they were sitting on desks in front of a chalkboard.

They thought for a minute and agreed. They ran through the center right door and continued through the tunnel.

* * *

**Me: OH MY GOD!! This Arc was only supposed to last 2 chapters!! Why is it getting extended?! Guess I put too much stuff. Oh well, more for you I guess but...I wanted to work on Evangeline soon. Ah well. If anyone noticed, in the last 2 chapters I used alot of test taking skills as reference. Figuring out that one answer is obviously wrong (The first challenges), critical thinking to solve hard problems (Traps and stuff), and process of elimination (Riddles). Sorry if this all feels...educational but it's a library and they had to learn SOMETHING for the test instead of cram sessions in an underground room and ancient Twister. Also, sorry for the long update. I needed a small break.**

**Kaede: I'VE BEEN POISONED HERE!**

**Me: Oh right, forgot about that! Will Kaede be cured? Why was there those weird dreams? Will Yuna figure out Sayo is really there? Read the next chapter to find out!**

**Negi: Read and Review please!!**

**Me: Wow, 30,000+ words in this story already!?  
**


	6. VI Library Journey Conclusion

**Me: Yo! How's everyone? It's time for Chapter 6!! I hope the Library Arc ends this time. It's been overstaying it's welcome. (Woot! 2.6k Views though)  
**

**Chisame: Isn't that your fault.**

**Me: Ah, Chisame-chan, so mean -sobs-**

**Nodoka: Uh...umm...shouldn't you...umm...start TS-san...**

**Me: Fine fine fine. God, everyone's against me today. Chachamaru, say the disclaimer!**

**Chachamaru: TS does not own Mahou Sensei Negima.**

**ME: Well then, on with the show!**

* * *

_**With Negi, Sayo, Ku Fei, Yuna, and Konoka**_

"...Hey!" Yuna called out to the others.

"What is it Yuna-san?" Negi asked as he looked behind him, panting slightly.

"Do you get the feeling were not moving anywhere?" she asked.

It was true. The whole group had ran into the pathway a few minutes ago. They obviously got the right way since there was not a trap in sight but they had been running for nearly 30 minutes and a while back they felt as though they weren't moving. They didn't know why. Negi looked around, there weren't any traps or anything. He looked up at Sayo. For some reason she looked a little disoriented. It was near the beginning of the pathway. They had only entered less then 5 minutes before she seemed to fall from the air slightly before righting herself. He had ignored it earlier but since it was persisting, he was a little concerned for his ghostly companion. He decided they should stop to rest.

"Alright everyone, we should stop running now. I think we need a break" Negi said as she slowed to a stop.

"Ahhhh" Yuna said as she sat down on the ground.

"I was getting tired-aru" Ku Fei said as she sat near Yuna.

"I know" Konoka said as she sat on Yuna's other side.

Negi sat down as well on the other side of Ku Fei. He looked up at Sayo. That was when he noticed something funny. She was still moving but at the same time not going anywhere. It was like running in place. She was literally flying in place.

_"W-What the?!" _he thought.

"Hey everyone, get back up and walked for a few seconds with me" Negi ordered.

"B-But we just sat down" Yuna complained.

They noticed the way Negi acted and didn't question further. They walked a couple seconds and stopped. Negi looked around but didn't say anything. He motioned for them to start walking again. A second later he told them to stop. It was slight but he felt something off. He gathered them to huddle up and whispered something. They all nodded. They got down and prepared to spring as fast as they could. They took the first step and...

"PSYCHE!" Yuna yelled just because she felt like it.

The ground suddenly jolted. Negi knew what was wrong.

"I got it! We really weren't moving anywhere!" he yelled.

"W-What?" Ku Fei questioned.

"When we walk, the floor is moving in the opposite direction. It's like those exercise machines that you run on" he explained.

"You mean we've literally been getting nowhere?" Konoka asked.

"Basically" Negi said with a sigh, he hated this library more and more.

He looked up at Sayo. She was probably hit my a magic spell that confuses people. Holding on to his staff as the others were looking away, he cast a minor spell breaker. Sayo gasped as she felt as though strings all over her body suddenly snapped. She shook her head and looked to see Negi wink at her before turning back to his friends.

"Hey g-" Negi was about to call them but was cut off.

Behind them, a large wall just slid out with large spikes protruding out. Everyone felt a sudden jolt as the wall appeared to come closer. That was when they realized, the wall wasn't moving...THEY WERE.

"RUN!!" Yuna yelled as they started running as fast as they could.

The hallway sped up to match their speed. It was like a giant conveyor belt! Ku Fei who was in the back dared to look behind her. The wall had opened up and moved back so the spikes just protruded from the side of the wall in an easy to avoid manner...until a second set appeared on the opposite wall along with a third set on top. The two on the sides suddenly jutted out and smashed into each other. As they moved back, the top part smashed downwards. EVERYONE saw that.

"I-IT'S GONNA CRUSH US!" Yuna yelled as tears streamed out of her eyes.

"Run everyone!" Sayo cried but only Negi could hear her.

Since Sayo was floating, she could see that they weren't moving at all.

"Aiyaaaah!" Ku Fei yelled as she ran faster.

"Ahh, we need to run faster" Konoka cried with tears also coming out of her eyes.

"I don't think we can run any faster" Yuna yelled.

"T-There has to be something controlling this hallway!" Negi yelled.

He looked straight at Sayo. She caught his idea. The ghost turned to the direction they were running and shot off like a bullet from a gun. She didn't have to worry about the floor so she searched quickly. Something or someone...somewhere was controlling the nightmare-ish hallway. She flew through the torch-lit hallway, looking along the walls for some sign. That was when she passed by a rather large one. She sweatdropped that there was a literal SIGN on the wall with a giant arrow that said "Conveyor Belt Control, this way". Deciding to question later why such a thing was THERE AT ALL, she flew in the direction the arrow pointed. She squinted her eyes slightly as she entered a large, circular room with two different hallways on the opposite side, a large podium in the middle. She could have SWORN she saw three golden triangles on the podium for a second. She flew up to it and saw it had 12 colored buttons in rows of 4. On the side of the podium were the words, Hallway Controls.

_"Ahh...which button?" _she thought.

She noticed a piece of paper on the floor. She picked it up and saw that there was a note written on the inside.

"Beware...10 buttons cause more misery. 1 button ceases all. 1 button ends it all" she read aloud.

It was probably a note to remind whoever uses it to be careful. 10 of the button cause more misery? Sayo wondered what that meant. What she DID know was that 1 button can save everyone and another button will crush them to death. Sayo gulped. Which button? She noticed a 13th button to the side. It didn't look harmful, a dull gray in color, so she pressed it. A large monitor-like screen showed up with Negi and the others. They were still running like crazy. That button was to see the effects of the others.

"What's that?" Sayo heard as from the monitor Yuna pointed out to something.

Negi looked up to see a strange floating monitor with Sayo on it. He gasped slightly.

"There's some kind of empty monitor" Konoka said.

Negi saw a look of hurt flash upon Sayo's face on the monitor. He gave a small wave to show he could see her. Since Sayo could see Negi, she felt much better. She took a deep breath as she chose a button.

"I-If I remember from the movies, it's always the blue button" Sayo said to herself.

She pressed the blue button. Instantly, giant spinning saw blades jutted out of the wall near Negi and co.

"EEEEEH?!" Negi screamed as he dodged the spinning metal.

"AHHHH!" Sayo yelled as she pressed the blue button again, bringing the saw blades back in the wall.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!" Yuna cried.

"I almost lost my head-aruka!" Ku Fei cried.

"There there Ku Fei. It's still attached" Konoka patted Ku Fei's back as she slowed down her run slightly to allow her to do that.

Sayo apologized as many times as she could to Negi who waved it off. He already saw the buttons and figured out that only one would help them and trusted his friend completely.

_"In one movie it was also the green one..." _Sayo thought.

She pressed the green one. Screams caught her attention. She looked at the screen to see giant guillotine blades start descending from different parts of the ceiling. Her transparent tears were streaming as she screamed and pressed the green button again. She decided not to trust movies. Maybe the purple one? More screams as she saw flames erupt from the walls. She pressed it again.

"Ahhhh! Which one is it!" she yelled to herself.

She looked as the screen to see Negi giving her a confident smile. He heard her yell. She couldn't let him down. Maybe the Yellow one. She pressed it. She didn't hear anything until...

"I CAN'T BREATHE!!" Negi yelled grasping his throat.

"IT CUT OFF THE AIR?!" she screamed as she pressed the button again.

She looked on in dread. Who the hell PROGRAMMED this thing?! **(-Whistles innocently-)** Maybe the black one. A hole opened up less then a foot away behind Konoka who was at the back of the running group. A large bubbling pool of lava?! She got rid of it. Maybe the...Orange one. The wall opened up near the group and large wooden hammer-like logs swung down on vines. Sayo pressed it again before they got hit. She was getting desperate now. 6 buttons left. She picked the white one next. Spears started shooting out of the walls. She heard Ku Fei use the large spear to knock them away, protecting everyone else. Sayo quickly smashed that button. Maybe the brown one. Water Hydrant-like gushes of water came from the walls. She pressed that again. The pink one seemed safe.

"AHHH?! AN ACID POOL?!" she heard Konoka scream.

Pink didn't seem safe all of a sudden. It was then she noticed just how lucky she had been. 3 buttons left and she hadn't pressed the one she labeled as the "Death" button. Red, Clear, or Diamond. She pressed the Diamond button.

"AHH! IT'S MOVING FASTER!!" she heard all of them yell at once.

She pressed the button and it turned off. Two left. One is the "Death" Button and one is the "Life" button. Which one? There is a 50 percent chance she might kill Negi or save him. She looked between the clear one and the red one. Clear is usually pure. Calm, collected, and nice. Red...in every movie, manga, or show she's EVER heard or read...you NEVER, EVER press the Red button. She was tempted to press the clear one but the whole library seemed backwards. The red one was the obvious choice...or was it? The place may WANT her to think it's the red one. She turned back to the clear one...but then she thought...

_"What if the library KNEW I would suspect it and want me to press the clear button? But what if it expected me to suspect it suspecting me that I would choose the red one?" _Sayo though.

Red. Clear. Red. Clear. RED. CLEAR.

_"WHICH ONE?!" _Sayo practically screamed in her own mind.

_**With Kaede, Yue, Makie, and Asuna**_

Kaede was holding her shoulder when she suddenly had the feeling of wanting to shout out "CLIFFHANGER!!". She shook off the urge and continued with the others. Her shoulder was KILLING her, quite literally. There were two holes in it after all. The poison was completely halted by her concentration of Ki. She was lucky she trained constantly. IF she didn't, she probably wouldn't have been able to hold the poison at bay for so long...or even fought those snakes at all. The others were resting. It had been over an hour since they had passed the riddle.

"I wonder where we are in this place" Asuna said aloud as she took a sip from her canteen.

"Well, we seem to go down more often then anything else" Yue said.

"So do you think we are near the bottom yet?" Makie asked.

"I don't think so-de gozaru. If we were I'm sure we would have met up with Negi-bouzu and Ku Fei-dono" Kaede answered.

"So we're at like...half-way?" Asuna whined.

"Probably" Yue said, a slight tone of aggravation in her voice.

"I wonder what day it is" Makie sighed.

"If I had to guess Makie-dono, I would have to say it's been 2 days since we came down here" Kaede guessed.

"Really?! I wonder what the others are doing in class" Asuna gaped.

"They probably think Negi-sensei took us for special studying before the big test" Yue said.

"I think it's about time we go-de gozaru" Kaede said as she started to get up.

"Fine fine. Let me finish my apple first" Makie said as she took her last bite and tossed the leftovers into an ancient looking trash bin.

"Why are there trash bins in here anyway?" Asuna asked as she looked at the thing.

"The people who built this city must not like littering" Makie said.

They proceeded on through the torch-lit hallway. Usually, around that time, a trap would probably have been sprung but everything appeared safe that time around. They walked slowly hoping to make sure they didn't miss a single thing out of place. After about 20 minutes, the saw a shaft of light near the end of the passageway. The next room was in front of them. They stopped before reaching the edge. It was a large room filled completely with water. There were no other passages.

"A dead end?" Makie questioned, an imaginary question mark floating above her head.

Kaede, using as little _Ki _as possible, walked on top of the water. She looked up. There was no way up. She was about to head back when she happened to notice something in the water. It was deep but she saw it. A passageway underwater!

"There's a way through underwater" Kaede said as she pointed downwards.

Makie jumped in to take a look. She could hold her breath the longest. A couple seconds passed before she resurfaced.

"It's too low! I can barely reach it before running out of air" she whined.

"How are we supposed to reach it then" Asuna groaned as she pulled Makie from the water.

They looked around to see if they could find anything. There was nothing. No item that can help them breathe under the water.

"I think there may be a way to drain the water but it MIGHT be in the tunnel under the water" Yue pointed out.

"So your saying they made something to get rid of the water...UNDER...the water" Asuna dumbed it down so she and Makie could get it.

"I know! The canteen-de gozaru! If you empty out the water, it can hold air for at least a minute if you breathe in and out of it" Kaede said as she fished out Makie's canteen.

"Right! And since Makie can hold her breath the longest...you will go down there" Yue pointed to the pink haired girl.

"Alright, I'll try" Makie said as she dumped the water from her canteen and brought it to her lips.

Makie dove into the water, swimming once more to the passageway. She started using the canteen near the end. She had to save the air first. The passageway was dark and eerie. There was moss growing along the sides and seaweed, which was strange since the water wasn't salty. Could it have adapted to freshwater? Makie shook it off as she went in further. Instantly, there was no light. She couldn't see her own hands let along the passage. It was getting a little hard to breathe. The air in the canteen was filling up with Carbon Dioxide. She kept going though. The air was really getting low. She needed to turn around. Right before she did though, she saw a shaft of light. Going near it, she saw a way back up. With a gasp, she broke the surface and climbed out of the small hole. She looked at her surroundings. It was completely different from the other rooms. The others were dark, dank, and dusty. This are was like an outdoor portion. It was bathed in the sunlight with many different kinds of wild and exotic flowers. It was basically a garden area, probably for recreational activities.

"Wow. So pretty" Makie said aloud.

She looked around. It was completely peaceful. She noticed a green flower, blue flower, and orange flower near each other. Asuna, Kaede, and Yue were still waiting for her. She looked around for something that can water. Near the other side of the garden, there was a passageway and next it it were two switches. She ran over to the switches.

"I wonder if this is it" she said as she reached for a lever.

It was a green one. She pulled it down. Behind her, small little sprinklers popped up and started spraying water. She giggled. Wrong one. She pushed it back up and reached for the red one. She pulled it down. She heard a large draining sound, kind of like when something goes down a drain. She probably hit the right one. She back, ready to call them into the hole but that was when she noticed something horrible. The plants! They had suddenly started goring larger...and larger...changing...morphing. In an instant, there was a garden of giant man-eating plants! Makie screamed as she dodged one plant who tried to gobble her.

"HEEEEEEELP MEEEEEEE!" she screamed.

Asuna, Yue, and Kaede had heard the scream. The water had drained suddenly and they though Makie found the draining switch but a second later, they heard a high-pitched scream that chilled them to the bones. They jumped down quickly and ran. The passage was short. They saw the little hole in the ceiling. They also heard roars and more of Makie's screams. They scrambled up quickly.

"MAKIE!" Asuna yelled from across the room.

"ASUNA! RUN!" Makie yelled from inside the other passageway.

She had run inside out of the plant's reach. Kaede, Yue, and Asuna were still in shock at the deadly plants.

"W-What do we do?" Asuna yelled as she picked up a metal rod sticking out from the wall.

A plant lunged at her and she batted it away. It was anchored to the ground so it just got knocked back. It came around a second time and this time, Asuna swung hard enough to decapitate the vicious plant.

"Alright!" Asuna cheered...until she saw it grow it's head back.

"It's a plant, it can regenerate" Yue said.

"We need to burn them-de gozaru" Kaede observed.

"Do you of you have a lighter or something?" Asuna asked as she knocked away another plant.

"No" Yue said.

"Fine, everyone get a metal rod. I think the plant broke the wall or something so there are a few over there. We're gonna run through them" Asuna said.

"We won't make it" Yue said.

"Yes we will!" Asuna yelled.

"I think I have to go with Asuna-dono on this one. We can't burn them-de gozaru" Kaede nodded as she picked up a rod.

"Ahhhhhh, alright!" Yue yelled as she shakily picked up one as well.

"On the count of three. 1..." Asuna started.

"Two..." Kaede counted next.

"T-Three!" Yue yelled as they ran in.

Makie watched them run. They knocked away as many plants as they could. It was then that Yue got caught in a vine.

"Yue!" Asuna yelled as she knocked away another plant.

The vine was alive! It grabbed Yue's leg and pulled her towards a large, yellow, flower-like one. Makie ran out from her hiding place. Using her flexible body, she weaved between the lunging plants and let her ribbon fly. It wrapped around Yue's outstretched hand. Makie pulled as hard she she could as Asuna and Kaede protected her from the sides. They wondered slightly what that ribbon was made of to be able to hold enough weight for grown people. Makie pulled as hard as she could. A tearing sound was heard ans she looked down. It wasn't the ribbon but the vine that snapped. Yue flew through the air and was caught by Makie...before Makie collapsed from the weight.

"God...Yue. Your hair must weigh like 10 pounds by itself!" Makie groaned.

"It only weighs 9" Yue pouted.

Asuna and Kaede were still keeping the plants at bay. They ran to the end of the room and made it through the passageway. Everyone collapsed on the ground as the adrenaline faded away.

"Who ever built this library...one day my foot would like a meeting with his or her ass!" Asuna complained.

"I bet if we looked hard enough, we would probably find someone whose been stuck in here for 5 or 10 years" Makie sighed.

_**Inside Albireo's room**_

"AH-CHOOOO! Someone's talking about me" said a strange blue-haired man.

_**Back with Asuna, Makie, Yue, and Kaede**_

"Hey Kaede, are you okay? You seem more tired then normal" Asuna asked.

"Y-Yeah, I think I just overexerted myself. I'll be fine-de gozaru" Kaede said.

Fighting drained her strength and made concentrating on the poison a little hard but if she rested a little she would recover. She could hear the plants still thrashing around, probably searching for their lost prey. She sighed and hoped that Negi and Ku Fei don't enter that area. They rested for a good 10 minutes before setting off again. The passage was different. The walls weren't brown with dust and dirt but were white like the outside of the temple and the ancient city. There was moss and grass growing and there were skylights instead of torches.

"...Weren't we going downwards half the time we were in this temple?" Yue spoke up suddenly.

"Umm...now that you mention it..." Asuna said with her index finger on her chin.

"We should be underground by now shouldn't we?" Makie said.

"Maybe this place was built with a steep hill behind it and when we first entered we were already underground and went through to the other side-de gozaru" Kaede suggested.

"Possibly...but now we have no clue what's behind the temple" Makie moaned.

"Mmmmm" everyone hummed in thought.

They continued walking as that thought plagued their minds. Kaede was apparently right since the tunnel ended. They walked outside and was slightly amazed. Behind them was a practical mountain. The could barely see the temple at the top. They looked around them to see a large forested area.

"W-We're out of the temple!" Asuna cried with a victory pose.

"Yay!" Makie said hopping around.

"But now we have to go through a dark, dank, bug-infested, unknown forest" Yue said killing the mood effectively.

Asuna and Makie stopped cheering. Kaede looked around and saw something a little different.

"Looks like we don't have to go through the forest after all" Kaede said as she pointed to a sign to their left.

It was a normal sign with an arrow. It pointed in a direction that avoids the forested area. Asuna and Makie cheered again. Looks like they were going to go in a different direction after all. They followed the way the sign pointed out. They headed through a small field. Asuna and Makie were practically dancing around int he sunlight. Being in a dark place for a long time really makes someone appreciate the sun. Yue seemed a little annoyed at their antics but had to admit that the sun felt great.

_**With Negi and Co.**_

A rumbling shook the room Sayo was in. Large rocks were falling from the ceiling. Sayo gasped as a rather large one fell through her. For a minute she forgot she was already dead. She looked at the floating screen to see that Negi had forgotten it as well. He looked shocked and was mouthing "Are you okay?". She nodded as she turned back tot he buttons. Red or Clear. She still hadn't chosen and the others were REALLY tired. She had no choice. She prayed to god that he would help her. She chose to press the clear button. She reached out for it but...

**BA-KOOM!!**

The roof suddenly shook harder then ever. Sayo saw Negi and the others looking fine so whatever was wrong was above the room. A large rock came down and struck the red button. Sayo gasped. God must hate her. She looked at the screen to see that they had fallen down. She was about to cry, thinking they were dead...until he saw them panting heavily. The hallway had stopped moving and the traps had deactivated.

_"Dear god...you're mean" _Sayo sighed at his twisted sense of humor.

The room shook one more time at that moment and a large pillar fell down and blocked one of the two earlier passageways. Sayo ignored it as she returned to the original way she came and floated along to meet her friends. She found them panting heavily.

"I-I think I've..._-pant-_...exercised enough for..._-pant-_...a whole year" Yuna moaned on the floor.

"N-Negi-kun...you don't have to come to training for the next week-aruyooo" Ku Fei said, her eyes nothing more then spinning lines.

"That..._-pant-_...acid pool almost..._-pant-_...got me" Konoka said as she crawled over to Negi "Are you..._-pant-_...okay Negi-kun? You're only 10"

"I-I'm fine Konoka-saan. Just let me rest for...the next 3 days" Negi said, his eyes also spinning.

"Negi-sensei. Was I helpful?" Sayo asked hopefully.

"Y-Yes...Sayo-san. You were a...big help. We couldn't have...lived without you" Negi praised the ghost.

Sayo inwardly cheered. She was feeling bad a while back since all she did was basically float around. Everyone was too tired to do anything so they just laid along the walls. Normally, sitting on a dirty, stone floor wouldn't be very appealing. Negi was feeling really tired. His eyes dropped slightly. Yuna crawled over to him.

"You sure you okay there Negi-sensei?" she asked.

"Y-Yea...just tired" Negi said, struggling to stay awake.

"We've been in here for who knows how long. Everyone is sleepy" Yuna yawned herself.

It had been about 2 days and they hadn't gotten any sleep at all. Negi looked over to his master to find her dead asleep. Konoka's head was tilting slightly. Negi silently worried that she might wake up with a sore neck that way. Yuna herself wasn't looking like her usual overly-energetic self. Well actually, she hadn't been her usual energetic self from the very beginning. Sayo didn't need to sleep but she could and was already dozing off. He watched her float in mid-air, hands behind her head in a comfy position. Before he knew it, the world was fading. Yuna gasped slightly as she felt Negi lean on her shoulder. She looked over, slightly alarmed, to find him asleep. She smiled slightly.

"He really is adorable. Makes me wanna just pinch his cheek" she slurred slightly.

"Aww, I wanna switch with you" Konoka said making Yuna jump slightly.

"I thought you were asleep" Yuna whispered loudly.

"Not yet" Konoka replied in a sing-song tone.

"If I move, I might wake him" Yuna sighed.

"Then just sleep" Konoka said as she tookt he vest-like part of her uniform, folded it, and used it for an impromptu pillow.

She heard Konoka and Negi's soft breathing. She looked across to the other wall. Ku Fei was obviously dreaming happily since she was starting to drool slightly. She was probably dreaming about food...again. Yuna yawned. Negi was warm and it was making her sleepy. She hadn't been sleeping well ever since her "ghost" incident so she wasn't up to par anyway. Speaking of the ghost, she glance in Sayo's direction. She felt the presence disappear as they were running but after the walls stopped, it came back. She was too tired to care. Slowly, her eyes closed.

_**4 hours later**_

Yuna woke up slowly. She yawned and stretched her arms up and then rubbed her eyes. She opened them to see two large brown orbs staring into her own. She almost screamed if Konoka hadn't covered her mouth and kept her from jumping up. Konoka put her finger on her lips and "shushed" her.

"What the hell?! What did you do that for?!" Yuna said in a loud whisper.

"Negi-kun is sleeping in your lap" she said.

"Ehhh?!" Yuna looked down to see a familiar patch of red hair.

"Ku Fei is also still asleep" Konoka further explained.

"Why don't you just wake them up!?" Yuna whispered loudly.

"Because waking up sleeping people is rude. Besides, I need to get a picture of this" Konoka whispered as she pulled out a camera.

"Where did you get a camera from?! And take a picture of what?!" Yuna nearly screamed.

Konoka pointed at Negi. Yuna looked down once more and noticed just HOW he was sleeping. He wasn't just laying on her lap, turned tot he other wall but had his arms around her, face buried in her stomach. She turned around to face Konoka and heard her camera snap a photo.

"AAAH?! KONOKA!" she whispered loudly again.

"What?" Konoka said as she put away the camera.

"DON'T TAKE A PHOTO OF THAT!!" she whispered back.

"But it's cuuuute" Konoka whined.

"It's embarrassing!" Yuna said irritated.

"I'm keeping it" Konoka said with a pout.

Yuna wanted to kick her. Sometimes she can be such a difficult person to argue with. She felt really annoyed with Ku Fei. Wasn't she a disciplined martial artist? Don't they always wake up early out of habit or something? She felt so tempted to chuck a rock at the blonde girl. She felt Negi move slightly. He snuggled up a little closer, burying his face further into her stomach. She almost laughed since she was slightly ticklish. She heard another snap of a camera.

"KONOKA!!" Yuna yelled again.

Konoka giggled as she put the camera back where she got it from.

"This is sexual harassment dammit!" Yuna cursed.

"Yuna! There is a child present" Konoka waved her finger in a "no-no" fashion.

"A child committing sexual harassment!" Yuna yelled.

"He doesn't know what he's doing" Konoka said.

A yawn caught their attention. Ku Fei was waking up. The blonde looked around a second before yawning again. Wiping some drool off her mouth she started looking around again except with an awakened brain.

"Aiyaaah...Negi-kun did it again" Ku Fei sighed as she got a good look at Yuna.

"What do you mean again?!" Yuna complained.

"Oh, he does that every now and then-aru. He used to sleep with his Onee-chan or something like that and doesn't like sleeping alone-aru" she explained.

"So he cuddled you before?" Konoka asked, a funny gleam in her eye.

Ahh, Konoka loved gossip. She leaned closer to Ku Fei as the Baka Ranger tried to backed away.

"N-No" Ku Fei lied.

"But then how did you know?" Konoka poked her int he stomach, her smile getting bigger and Ku Fei giggled.

"He told me..." she continued lying.

"Aaaaaand" Konoka said poking Ku Fei in to stomach again.

"Stop that-aruyo! Tickling is cheating" Ku Fei said as she backed up against the other wall.

"I won't stop until you tell me" the other girl said practically singing as she started poking Ku Fei.

"Guys, you're gonna wake up Negi-sensei" Yuna warned but looked like Ku Fei was too...distracted.

"Hehehe, n-nooo! N-Not there! PFT" Ku Fei tried to stifle her laughter.

"Teeeeell Meeeee" Konoka practically sang.

Yuna made a mental note NEVER to hide information on anything from Konoka again. She should ask Asakura to learn the art of the Paparazzi. She felt Negi move in her lap again. The noise was starting to make him up.

"AHAHAHA! Y-YES! H-HE CUD-HAHA-CUDDLED WITH ME! HAHAHA" Ku Fei admitted as Konoka finally stopped with a victory pose.

"Guys! You're waking Negi-sensei up!" Yuna said, but it was too late.

"Nnnn...wha? WHA?! Y-YUNA-SAN!" Negi yelled as he woke up, waving his hands in front as though to protect himself "I-I didn't mean to do that!"

Yuna pretended to be mad and put her fist on Negi's head. She grinned when he flinched.

"Make sure it doesn't happen again" she warned him when he opened his eyes again.

"Neeegi-kun! You didn't tell me you couldn't sleep without your sister" Konoka turned to him.

"W-Wha? Master Ku, you told her?" Negi whined.

"She tickled it out of me-aru" Ku Fei said.

As they laughed and talked, Negi noticed his ghost of a friend still asleep in the air. She was apparently a heavy sleeper. While the others weren't looking, he grabbed her shirt and pulled her down gently and nudged her...which made her roll over face-don in the air. He poked her shoulder and whispered quietly...

"Wake up Sayo-san" he whispered in her ear.

Sayo slowly woke up. she was having the best nap she's had for the last...40 years. She always found it weird for a ghost to sleep and since she never got tired she usually didn't. She woke up to Negi's smiling face (which just made her day a good day) and yawned. She stretched in mid-air as the others started to get ready. Ku Fei strapped the naginata she carried on her back as Konoka helped tie Negi's staff to his own back. They walked towards the next room Sayo had been in before. The fallen pillar blocked one route so they took the other one. They felt the path going upwards. That was when the say it! The end of the tunnel! They saw light! They had been stuck in underground tunnels for who knows how long **(Now 3 1/3 days)**. It was good to see light. They rushed to the doorway and entered a large meadow. They had just gotten through what seemed like a mountain.

"N-NEGI-BOUZU-DE GOZARU?!" came a voice to his right.

Everyone turned to find Kaede, looking equally surprised.

"KAEDE-SAN!" Negi ran up to the ninja.

"Konoka-dono, Yuna-dono(?), Ku Fei-dono!" Kaede greeted happily "GUYS! IT'S NEGI-BOUZU AND THE OTHERS!"

Asuna didn't have time to react as a large brown blur suddenly slammed into her, completely knocking the wind out of her. Negi had the same experience with a pink blur. They had finally run into the others. Kaede was busy getting Ku Fei off her as well.

"Where were you guys!" Asuna said happily as she shook Konoka off her.

"We should ask you the same thing!" Negi said as Makie still clung to him.

"Why is Yuna here?" Yue asked.

"It's a long story" Yuna sweatdropped.

"Kaede! There are two large bite marks on your shoulder-aruka!" Ku Fei pointed out.

"Kaede-san?! Are you okay?!" Negi asked as he took a look.

"She got bitten by a snake" Makie said.

"Sn-Snake?!" Negi panicked as he checked for poison.

"I-It's nothing. I'm fine! It wasn't poisonous or anything" Kaede lied.

"G-Good" Negi said, abandoning his search with relief.

"Now tell us where you were and why Yuna is with you" Asuna said.

_**2 hours later**_

"And after running through the man-eating plant garden, we wound up here. It was still rampaging when we left" Yue finished.

Sayo looked intrigued. That might be what caused those quakes earlier. Those falling rocks and fallen pillar. Speaking of which, if that pillar hadn't fallen, there was a chance they would have taken the other path and wouldn't meet with the others. Negi was listening tot hem like all small children listened to brave, adventure stories. Yue made a good story-teller.

"I'm sorry Konoka dragged you into this" Asuna apologized to her friend.

"Don't worry. I'm still alive...thankfully" Yuna said the last part a little harshly.

"Don't get mad. You go to sleep wi-MMPH" Konoka started but Yuna blocked her mouth.

"Sleep wi-" started Asuna but Yuna cut her off.

"I-It's nothing!" she brushed the subject away while still holding Konoka's mouth before whispering to Konoka "Remember! What happened in those tunnels, STAYS in those tunnels!"

With the group reunited...with 2 extra members, they set off again when they found another sign with an arrow. They followed it until hit another sign. They followed it to a third. Then a fourth. Finally they found a large entrance leading underground, kind of like a cellar door.

"...Do we HAAAAVE to go back down there?" whined Makie, Asuna, Ku Fei, and Yuna all at once.

"Do you want to get back home?" Yue asked.

The whining ceased immediately. Negi wished he could quiet the class that easily. They opened the large wooden doors to find a pair of lamps and some matches. Igniting the old fashioned oil lamps, they proceeded into the darkness. It was probably the last route before they find an exit of sorts. Negi told Sayo to float near him, just in case something hits her again. They tunnel was quiet. The only sound was their footsteps and echoes. It gave off melancholy vibes that made some shiver. Negi and Yue walked ahead, shining the light in front and also making sure not to run into anything dangerous. They were to most observant so they were the best candidates for the job. Ku Fei and Kaede stayed in the back for protection.

"Feels like a ghost might come out and eat you more then then other areas" Makie spoke up.

"D-Don't even think about that" Yuna shivered since she was behind Negi and that "feeling" was VERY close to her.

"Yuna's afraid of ghosts" Konoka whispered in Makie's ear.

"I AM NOT!" Yuna yelled.

"BOO!" Asuna yelled as she took Negi's lamp and put it near her face in a creepy fashion.

"WAAAAH!" Yuna screamed as she clung to the person nearest her.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHA!" the orange haired girl laughed.

"T-That's not FUNNY!" Yuna yelled.

"Can't...breathe...air..." Negi gasped out.

Yuna had clung to Negi and was crushing his windpipe. She let go quickly before Negi fainted. Asuna gave back the lamp, giggling slightly.

"Quit messing around" Yue said.

"Aww, it was just harmless fun" Asuna waved her hand.

Ku Fei and Kaede shook their heads. Hard to believe that the group could easily be ambushed by multitudes of traps any minute. Everyone's so carefree...well except Negi and Yue.

"Anyone here hungry?" Makie asked.

At that moment, Konoka, Ku Fei, Negi, and Yuna's stomach growled.

"Eeeh...forgot we hadn't eaten since...actually we haven't eaten at all" Negi thought.

"You mean the whole time you've been in this library, you haven't eaten-de gozaru?" Kaede asked.

"We were a little busy trying not to die" Yuna said.

"Oh right! We've got some food. Asuna and Kaede made sure we saved some" Makie held out some fresh fruit they had found near the edge of the forest earlier.

Negi's group (except Sayo) chowed down on the food while walking. They had finished their last bite when they reached saw a light near the end. They ran to the next area. It was HUGE! It was a cathedral-like room. There was even stained glass in large tower-like windows. In the very middle of the room was a podium.

"L-Look! A book!" Asuna pointed out.

"Is that the one we were looking for?" Ku Fei asked.

Negi's eyes widened. That wasn't any ordinary book!

"T-That's the Melchizedek Bible! **(I'm sure that's what Akamatsu was referring to)**" Negi yelled out.

"The...Mel-what?" Asuna asked.

"It's a supposed legendary book said to allow the reader or owner to "understand" reality. Making the impossible possible. Literally making miracles completely possible through the understanding of reality. It will do more then make you smart!" Negi explained to the awestruck group. **(Trust me, it's a myth although it seriously was sort of explained that way)**

"Negi-sesnei really knows his stuff" Yuna said.

"So you mean it would make us smarter after all-aruyo?" Ku Fei asked.

"Smarter?! This would make your wildest dreams possible" Negi said as though he couldn't get an clearer.

The group was wondered if taking such a thing was good. They sorta felt stealing such a thing would be a crime above crimes. They got through hundred of traps and life-threatening situations though. They probably deserved it.

"Who wants to go get it?" Makie spoke up.

"Something like that HAS to be trapped" Konoka said.

"Alright, all of us together. We all grab it at once" Negi compromised since no one seemed willing.

A group "Fine" was heard. They walked through the cathedral slowly, headed for the podium. Each person reached for it simultaneously. They all touched it and pulled it off...nothing happened.

"Eh?" Negi wondered when he looked around.

"Nothing? That's it? No big climactic end to our search?" Yue questioned no one in particular.

"Not one trap? Are you sure we have the right book?" Asuna asked.

"There's a bookmark in here" Makie said as she pulled out a bookmark from the book.

"I.O.U. 1 climactic ending" Yuna read.

"The hell?!" Asuna gaped.

"Whoever made this place probably didn't expect anyone to get through-de gozaruna" Kaede said.

"B-but! What's the point of that?! I wanted to fight SOMETHING-aruyo!" Ku Fei whined.

"It feels like I'm in some really cruddy fanfic" Yue muttered to herself.

"I think you should be happy something didn't pop out to kill us" Yuna said.

"Negi-sensei, I see a door over there. I think it leads to the exit" Sayo told Negi, pointing to a door near the end of the room.

"Looks like the way out is over there" Negi told the others.

"Well...I guess we leave" Asuna said.

Everyone nodded a little unenthusiastically. It really was a weird end to their adventure. Makie put the book in her backpack and and opened the door for the others. Yue and Negi had put the lamps on the podium since there seemed to be light on the other side of the door. They walked out into a large area. There were tree roots growing all over the walls. They appeared to be glowing. There were lakes EVERYWHERE filled with books. Shelves seemed to have been strewn everywhere and building seemed to be misplaced. But everywhere there were books. It was a reader's paradise.

"Woooow-aruka" Ku Fei gawked.

"This place finally looks like a library...sorta" Yuna said.

"This place gets more amazing by the minute" Konoka giggled.

"This...is ridiculous!" Asuna yelled.

"Look look! The books aren't wet even though they are in the water!" Negi yelled as he fished out some books.

"Be careful or you'll fall in Negi-bouzu" Kaede said.

"Ahh! Negi-sensei!" Sayo yelled as Negi fell into the water.

"It's not deep" Yue called over when she walked into the lake.

"Are those roots glowing?" Makie asked in wonder.

They went exploring for a little bit. Kaede fished Negi out of the water. She winced slightly. She had pulled him out with her injured side. Yue was picking book after book off the shelves. Asuna, Makie, Konoka, and Ku Fei were exploring the misplaced buildings. Yuna was just wandering around while Sayo wacthed Negi get fished up. Asuna's group came back a while later.

"We found food and stuff in the buildings!" Asuna yelled showing a large chicken leg.

"Mmmph!" Makie agreed with a mouthful of food.

"Anyone find an exit?" Yue called.

"Sorry nope" Konoka called back.

"Where's Yuna-de gozaru?" Kaede asked.

"She wandering around" Negi answered.

Just as they said that, they saw Yuna come running down to them. She was panting hard and looking excited.

"I THINK I FOUND AN EXIT!" she yelled.

This caught everyone's attention. They scrambled after her as she ran back they way she came. They ran for a bit before seeing a large tower-like building that reached all the way to the top of the area. It definitely looked like an exit. Everyone rushed towards it...except Negi and Sayo. Sayo wondered why he stopped but Negi's eyes looked wide. He sensed a powerful source of magic coming from nearby. It was getting closer and fast! He looked to the girls.

"WAIT! DON'T GO UP THERE!!" he yelled but it was too late.

A large crash came from near the tower. The girls all stopped when a wall practically exploded. Without warning, green vines shot out from the smoke. Makie, Yue, and Konoka didn't react quick enough and were snagged.

"MAKIE! YUE! KONOKA!" Asuna yelled.

The smoke cleared and they saw the culprit. The garden of plants from earlier! It had grown 10 times larger then before, possibly from the magic water and sunlight, and was rampaging before them.

"AHHH! HELP!" Makie yelled as the vines wrapped around her.

"AHHHHHHH!" Konoka screamed.

"Quick! Get away!" Yue yelled.

Asuna, Kaede, Ku Fei, and Yuna jumped away as Negi rushed up. The plant monster grabbed Makie's backpack.

"I think it's after the book!" Yuna yelled.

She was right unfortunately because a second later, the black book was eaten. That annoyed them. They went through a lot of trouble for it. Ku Fei brandished her spear and swung at some incoming vines. Kaede tossed some kunai as Yuna and Asuna lured the monster near the other two. Negi pulled out his staff. He saw a vine appear behind Kaede from the ground.

"KAEDE-SAN! BEHIND YOU!" Negi yelled quickly.

Kaede flipped foward, narrowly avoiding it. Ku Fei was holding off as many vines as possible but the plant kept growing more.

"It keeps regenerating!" Yue yelled before the plant knocked her out with a little pollen that put the others to sleep.

"Dammit! We still don't have anything to burn it with!" Asuna yelled as she dodged another vine intent on sending her flying.

"Asuna! Look out!" Yuna yelled as she pushed Asuna away from a large rock pillar.

The plant had picked it up from the ground. Yuna hacked up a bit of blood as it slammed into her stomach. 1...no 2 ribs were probably broken as she was sent flying.

"YUNA-SAN!" Negi yelled as he magically powered his feet.

Using his already improved physical strength with his magic, he was JUST fast enough to catch her. She was out cold. Negi gently laid her on the ground. He was getting mad. NO ONE...err...NOTHING attacks HIS students! Ku Fei sliced through vines holding the pillars gracefully as Kaede flung kunai at it's large body. Asuna was kicking at the large head-like parts trying to eat her as Negi was bashing away at random vines. Sayo was tending to Yuna as she dragged Yuna's body out of range. Yuna shivered even though she was unconscious. The plant seemed to be getting angry as it's vines stopped going for the "grabbing" and started more on swinging, stabbing, and smashing. Asuna barely got away, within hair's width of getting impaled. The plant seemed to get smarter through out the battle. One of the large bulbous "heads" opened up and spat large brown liquid.

"What the heck is that?!" Asuna yelled as she ducked under some.

Ku Fei dodged and closed in, prepared to slash at it's body-like area, but had to stop quickly. The plant stuck Makie, Konoka, and Yue's unconscious forms in front of it like a shield.

"It's using them as captives-aruyo!" Ku Fei yelled angrily.

Kaede was fighting fine until she found out just how much energy she was using up. She gasped in pain as her shoulder ached. She had lost her concentration on the poison for a second and it had spread at least half an inch. It seems the poison was pain-inducing. She grunted as she quickly side-stepped a vine...right onto a large glob of the brown gunk. She let out a groan of disgust.

"I-It's sap!" Kaede yelled to the others as she tired to pull her foot free "Crap! It's hard too!"

Negi ran over to Kaede, knocking away the vines that turned towards her vulnerable form. Asuna wasn't faring well either. Unlike Kaede and Ku Fei, she wasn't used to such strenuous activity for too long. She was getting tired. A large pod came at her. With her usual, monstrous strength, she kicked the thing. It burst as purple pollen exploded outwards.

"GAH!" Asuna yelled as he body suddenly went numb.

"Asuna!" Ku Fei yelled but it was too late.

The paralyzing pollen had already got her as three vines slammed into her. She was definitely knocked out as she slammed into a wall. Negi, distracted by Asuna, missed a vine. It grabbed Kaede. Kaede felt her leg come free but wasn't too happy that the plant was the one who pulled her out. She pulled out another kunai and held it like a knife. She cut the vine around her waist and dropped to the ground gracefully. Negi cursed in his mind. If he could only use his magic. Unfortunately, his moment of carelessness caused him to miss another vine. His staff was knocked out of his hand, far to the back. Well, since he was not weighed down by his staff, he easily dodged through the other vines. Ku Fei saw Negi defenseless and ran towards him. Negi was keeping it at bay thanks to his Kenpo so she didn't need to worry too much. Kaede fell to her knees. Concentration was really hard when faced with the monster. Unfortunately this caused her to get grabbed by a vine that came from below the ground.

"KAEDE-SAN!" Negi yelled.

The plant was prepared this time. It wrapped it's vine completely around the ninja, making sure her arms were bound. A spray of pollen later and she was reduced to another sleeping human shield. Ku Fei and Negi were the only two left. They stood next to each other in a completely overused "Back to back, Master-Student, team kicking all the asses of a bunch of enemies when surrounded" stance. Until a vine grabbed Negi's left leg. He was hoisted into the air.

"NEGI-KUN!" Ku Fei yelled.

Negi turned his head to her as he saw her chuck her only weapon. Negi caught the naginata and sliced through the vines but knew it came with a price. Even with her masterful martial arts, Ku Fei was waaay to close to the plant. At least 30 or 40 vines were all around her and she couldn't defend against them all. She was finally subdued, much to Negi's chagrin and knocked out. Sayo had pulled Asuna over to the sidelines near Yuna. She was Negi fighting single-handedly. Negi remembered an important fact, Sayo already knew about his magic so...

"**Ras Tel Ma Scir Magister! Sagitta Magica! Series Ign**-GACK!" Negi started, the arrows of fire turning into smoke.

Sayo had tackled him. Negi looked surprised for a minute.

"Negi-sensei! What were you planning on doing?" Sayo scolded.

"I was going to shoot arrows of fire" Negi said.

"And burn it? You'll burn the others too!" she said.

"Geh" he hadn't though of that.

He backed away. He couldn't burn it while they were still in it's grip. But then what could he do?! He thought hard as he used the spear to slash the vines. He gritted his teeth when they regenerated. Burning was the only option. That way it couldn't regenerate. He sliced off another group of vines but missed one. It was trying to impale him. Sayo flew in front and held out her arms. She concentrated as hard as she could. Negi nearly tried to push her out of the was if she wasn't already dead. The vine would go through her...until he felt a small flare of magic. He opened his eyes to see the vine was frozen solid. Sayo was breathing hard.

"S-Sayo-san! You used magic?!" Negi gaped.

"I-I only did it once bef-fore...-pant-...I thought if ghost's were already...-pant-...in tune with nature, I could use it" she said but Negi saw her float a little lower to the ground.

She was probably only able to use it once before needing rest. He looked at the frozen vine...it didn't regenerate. A light bulb practically appeared above his head. Why hadn't he thought of that. Plants don't grow in winter after all. He looked at the plant confidently. He did NOT like what he saw. The plant must be hungry again after eating the book. It was trying to eat his students. He snapped.

"DON'T..." he started as he ran "**Ras Tel...**"

The plant turned to him, ignoring it's meal for the moment.

"TOUCH..." he continued holding the spear in front "**Ma Scir Magister...**"

The plant shot off multitudes of vines in his direction, each one ready to impale him.

"MY STUDENTS!!" Negi yelled as his magic concentrated onto his spear "**Hiberna Ventulus!! (Winter's Breeze)**

His spear was wrapped in magic ice. He chilled the air around it causing the water in the air to freeze and take the spears shape with it as a medium of sorts. The ice at the tip took the blade's shape and enlarged. The ice spear grew longer and hardened. Negi sliced through the vines, freezing them instantly. Ice magic wasn't his specialty but chilling the wind was possible so they froze even before getting cut. The plant let out a strangled noise, like a scream. Sayo cheered him on. Negi dwindled it's vines into nothing. It placed it's human shield's in front. The young mage used the gathered ice on the spear and turned some into arrows. He shot them and upon impact, froze only the vines holding the students. They all fell to the ground unharmed. Ku Fei landed on her head. She let out a groan and opened her eyes for less then a second. The sight of a large frozen spear in Negi's hands, fighting off a monster was seen before she fell unconscious again. With the last of his strength, he chucked the spear like a javelin. The ice reformed into the shape of one. It hit the monster's body dead on. With one last screamed, the body of the plant started hardening. The ice slowly traveled up until the whole plant was frozen. Negi rushed up to the large body that was 10 times larger then himself and prepared his fists. He charged them up with magic to increase his power.

"_Hakyokuken! Hachi-Daishou-Shiki! Zetsushou! Tsutenpo!!_" the boy cried, extending his left fist with all the power in his body behind it.

The ice statue shattered into pieces. The ice crystals lingered in the air as they melted, leaving behind a beautiful glimmering mist. Negi fell to the ground, exhausted. He was tired. He felt sleepy as well. He knew why.

"The mist...sleep...pol...len...zzzzz" he fell asleep.

_**3 hours later**_

Negi woke with a jolt. Makie was hovering over him. He backed away quickly thinking he might have clung on to her again.

"GUYS! HE'S AWAKE!" Makie called out.

"W-Wha?" Negi wondered until he felt an enormous pressure on top of him.

All the other girls (minus Sayo, Yuna, Kaede, Yue, and Asuna) jumped on him. They hugged him hard.

"Negi-kun! You beat it!" Konoka yelled happily.

"How did you do it?" Makie asked.

"He's my apprentice after all-aruyo!" Ku Fei bragged.

Ku Fei couldn't remember ANYTHING after she was knocked out. Her head hurt though. Negi shook them off and turned to the others. Kaede and Yuna were on those funny folding chairs people use at the beach. Negi ran over to Yuna first.

"Are you okay Yuna-san? Negi asked knowing full well she wasn't.

"Yes, just a couple broken bones" Yuna said a little painfully.

"Ahh! I'm a horrible teacher for letting you get hurt" Negi whined.

"It's okay Negi-sensei. You killed the thing. I think you're an awesome teacher" Yuna said patting his head.

Negi blushed at the praise then turned to Kaede who looked...for a better word, horrible.

"KAEDE-SAN! WH-WHAT HAPPENED?!" Negi yelled, tears streaming out of his eyes.

"She lied about that snake that bit her. It apparently was poisonous" Yue said in her usual drawl but every detected the tone of anger and worry in it.

"I'm sorry Negi-bouzu. I wanted everyone to worry about getting out of here first" she said with a pained grin.

"Do you at least have an antidote?!" he yelled.

"Yue made one from a book she found in on the shelves. There were supplies in those buildings as well as intricate instructions on how to use them. Any later and KAede might have died" Asuna said angrily.

"I didn't mean to worry you-de gozaruna" Kaede tried to appease the red-head's anger.

"Speaking of books...what happened to the-" started Negi but Yue shook her head.

"It got digested" she answered.

Negi couldn't tell whether to be sad or horrified. One of the world's rarest and most powerful books was just destroyed before his eyes. He turned back to the group.

"We have to carry Yuna and Kaede back up to the surface don't we?" Negi asked.

"Yes. Ku Fei should carry Kaede and Asuna will carry Yuna" Makie said.

"Umm, I think I should at least carry one person" Negi said trying to take responsibility.

"Dont' be silly you brat. As if you can carry either of them" Asuna said with her fist on his head.

Negi picked up Yuna bride-style to demonstrate.

"Alright alright! God, so persistent!" Asuna said as she picked up his staff and spear which they retrieved.

"Don't I get a say in this?!" Yuna whined.

Negi held her carefully since she can't be put on his back. Her ribs were wrapped up and that would only hurt her further. Sayo floated next to Negi, taking care not to accidentally brush against Yuna. They entered the tower-like structure and found a long set of spiral stairs. They walked up there no problem, all the doors were open for some reason. They ran up and found an elevator. They entered...and found out they were too heavy.

"EEEEH?! Too heavy?!" Asuna wanted to kick the machine.

"I think we are 1 person too heavy-aruka" Ku Fei said.

"I'll get off and ride up next. Take care of Yuna-san" Negi said as he stepped off.

Still to heavy.

"What the hell?! Still too heavy?!" Asuna yelled again.

Negi stepped back on and let Ku Fei walk off. Maybe a full grown person needed to get off. It was still too heavy.

"Guy's, I'm not that injured. Me and Negi can ride up next" Yuna offered.

"You're still injured unlike us! You need immediate attention" Negi said.

"I'm fine! It's Kaede that needs immediate attention!" Yuna argued.

In the end, Negi gave into her whim and took both of them off.

"You know I CAN stand right?" she asked.

She ordered him to let her stand. He did...and caught her as she wobbled. She saw Negi's look of dissatisfaction. She sighed.

"Save our lives once and suddenly you're so commanding" she joked.

"I am not! You're hurt!" he complained.

"I'm fine. We should be more worried about you" she said.

"M-Me?" he asked.

"Of course. You're 10 years old and you've been in so much danger because of us" she explained.

"I'm actually 10 in Kazoe years" he said.

"...That's...even worse" she sweatdropped "We were dragging a 9 year old around, nearly getting him killed multiple times"

"I'm your teacher! It's my job to protect my students" he said cheerfully.

"Ahh, what happened during your childhood? You're too mature for your age" she sighed.

Negi had gone quiet. She probably hit a sensitive subject.

"Uhh...err...forget what I just said" Yuna said, waving off the subject and switching to another one "I wonder how long it is until out test"

"Test...THE TEST!" he jumped up suddenly.

"Y-You forgot about something that important?! Weren't you going to get fired if we were in last place again?" she yelled at him.

The ding of the elevator caught their attention. They looked over to the side to see the elevator open up. They were finally headed back to the surface. Negi and Yuna stepped onto the elevator and went to to greet their friends. He stepped out and they found themselves outside the library. The elevator descended into the ground!

"Negi-kun! The test is tomorrow and it's already night-time!" Konoka yelled.

"WHAT!?"

_**The next morning**_

Negi and the other spent the whole night studying and woke up just in time to get to class. Negi walked into his homeroom to greet his other students. Ayaka looked...dead.

"Umm...G-Good Morning Class!" Negi greeted.

Ayaka suddenly looked lively as the whole room shouted "NEGI-SENSEI!". They hadn't missed his absence with the others for the past three days. Thy put it off as Negi giving them lessons and studied hard after learning from Asakura what the "bad thing" was. An instructor came in with the exams and Negi had to leave. He looked into the room, hoping. Ku Fei looked down at her test and read the first question in her mind.

_"If a person was to fall down from the height of "Y" at a velocity of "Z", how long would it take to hit the ground?" _she read.

Wait...Height of (Y) **(You insert whatever you want to Y and Z)**. Wasn't that waterfall the same height? Kaede looked at hers. It was a simple, what was NOT the answer questions. She remembered how you had to look for something out of place, just like in the mountains. The others had a look of wonder as well. A good portion of the test was covered over some kind of event that happened underground. The rest of the class had never heard the pencils of the Baka Rangers work so vigorously.

_**The next day**_

"Negi Springfield. Please report to the Dean's office" came a voice over the intercom.

Negi left the room as the next announcements rang out. Negi entered the room of the dean's.

"Good Morning Dean Konoe" Negi greeted.

"Ahh, Negi-kun. I bet you're wondering about those scores and your test" he smiled.

"Y-Yes sir!" Negi nodded.

"They are coming up now" the Dean pointed to the intercom.

"Coming in 3rd place is...class 2-E" came the voice of some person on the Student Council "Coming in 2nd place is...class 2-F"

He waited as the skipped over the 1st place for dramatic effect. 4th, 5th, 9th, 12th...Last.

"Last place goes to class...2-K!" the person announced.

Negi jumped out of his chair. He could have sworn her heard his own classroom as well.

"1st place...in a big upset...is class 2-A!!"

"YEAH!" Negi yelled jumping.

"Ahahaha, yes Negi-kun. You're class passed. You expect to pass as well do you not?" the Dean asked.

The way he phrased that didn't sound right. Negi stopped cheering.

"To tell you the truth Negi-kun, your test was actually something different" the Dean continued.

"D-Different?" Negi asked.

"Indeed. The true test Negi-kun, was if you could ACT like a teacher. I spread the rumor of the magic book and knew everything that happened in that library" he continued once more.

"E-Everything?" Negi gulped.

"Yes, everything. Every time you were all nearly smashed, squashed, and crushed"

Negi looked down. He must not have done a good job.

"And in the end...I was very pleased. You did as I expected. You protected your students, helped them along the way, and would have willingly risked your life for theirs. You even went further and became friends. Negi-kun, you passed with flying colors" the Dean smiled widely.

Negi looked ecstatic.

"Starting next week, after the break to let everyone relax, you are an official teacher!" the asserted.

Negi cheered. His class did as well since the Dean allowed class 2-A to hear the last part as well. The whole room cheered.

* * *

**Me: GUH! It's finally over. I wanted it to end so badly I kinda rushed a little on the ending. Sorry for the long wait as well, I'm like a day late. I kept getting distracted. I hope you all like Chapter 6!**

**Ku Fei: It's finally over-aruyo!**

**Asuna: I'm never going to the library again!**

**Negi: Me neither.**

**Me: Well, read and review people! (11k words! Dang!)  
**


	7. VII Student Troubles Part I

**Me: Hellooooo everyone! Sorry it took so long for the update, been really busy vacationing in Canada (Still there mind you so updating has slowed considerably)! Let's see, where did I leave off...**

**Negi: We are past the Library Arc TS-san!**

**Setsuna: You also gave the class a week vacation to commend their efforts.**

**Me: Right! I can't have you in the Evangeline Arc beaten, battered, and bruised (Sorry to the readers but 3 days of non-stop life threatening situations and a end-of-term test which drains them mentally instead of physically deserves a good break)**

**Ayaka: Ahhh, so generous TS! I'm betting you shall make a chapter devoted to me and Negi-sensei to find our love and...(blah blah blah blah)**

**Me: ...Oooooookaaaaaaay. Ignoring Ayaka, I'll be making a new Original Arc (Not like the Library Arc wasn't twisted enough to be the same as the manga anyway). 1 Week vacation, 9 girls befriended, 22 girls relatively untouched. Sorry to those who were hoping to see Negi kick some vampire ass. Now lets see...Mana! Say the disclaimer!**

**Mana: Give me 100 yen.**

**Me: What!? Alright, geez. So greedy...**

**Mana: ****TS-san does not own Mahou Sensei Negima nor it's characters...and I am not greedy, I just...prefer to have large sums of finances on hand when I have need of it...  
**

**Me: ...Onwards with the chapter and the start of the "Student Troubles Arc"...(whispers) Greedy.**

**Mana: I heard that!**

**Me: D'OH!**

* * *

Light poured into the small room that Negi shared with Ku Fei. As the sun's rays struck Negi, he mumbled in his sleep. It was basic mumbling but hints of "Stupid sun" and "go back down" could be heard. He unconsciously shut his eyes tighter. He buried his head closer to a source of warmth next to him. He could have sworn he felt it move as though tickled and even heard a giggle before silence once more held dominion on his hearing. The sun however was relentless and if possible shined even brighter...or it was the clouds moving out of the way completely. Negi couldn't ignore it any longer and, with a small groan, cracked open an eyelid. The second eye soon followed as he rubbed them. He shook his head and looked around. He recognized the small room he usually slept in with a few...guests. He was once more sleeping in Ku Fei's bed...but why was Ku Fei all the way on the other side of the room on the couch? Memories flooded back to him. After school ended, there was a huge congratulation party held for Negi (although he vaguely thought that his class would hold a party for possibly ANY reason). Most of the people had left but apparently some people stayed. Ku Fei was asleep on the 1 person couch. Next to it was Asuna and Yuna, both sleeping on a larger couch together although faced away from each other. On the floor was Makie, Iincho, Haruna, Yue, and Nodoka all in different places and positions. Iincho was drooling into her pillow on the floor. If he had listened closely, he could have heard her mumble "Negi-sensei". Makie and Haruna seemed to have fallen asleep anywhere they wanted. Yue and Nodoka where near him, both leaning on each other asleep in a corner near the bed. He turned to see who was in the bed to find Konoka. He blushed furiously as he quickly got out of the bed, away from the brunette. He must have crawled into the bed and clung to whoever was in it. He saw movement to his left and found Sayo, or at least half or her. Half of her body was outside the building while the other half was inside as she floated in the air, an anime style snot bubble on her nose. He hard a coughing come from above him. He looked up to see Kaede on the top bed, staring at him with a grin.

"Had a nice sleep Negi-bouzu? I'm sure Konoka-dono did" the ninja said quiet with a teasing voice.

Negi blushed and chose to ignore her question, opting to change the subject.

"How long were you awake" he asked.

"A few minutes. Whoo, that was some party last night" she said happily.

"If the parties are this intense now, I wonder what they will be like when you can all drink..." he muttered out loud, her astute hearing catching it perfectly making her chuckle.

"Trust me Negi-bouzu, you do NOT want to know-de gozaru" she answered.

"I don't know, I'm sure I wouldn't mind still teaching you by then" he joked but she knew he wasn't kidding.

"Well, what are you planning to do now?" she asked him as she jumped down from the top bunk without making a sound.

"Err...guess I had better take a bath before someone complains about it" he said, obviously very reluctant but is pushing aside his own hatred of baths for the comfort of his students.

"Shall I join you?" she teased.

"N-No!" she almost yelled out but remembered that there are sleeping people present "I-I can go alone"

Kaede watched in amusement as he quickly grabbed some clothes and ran out the door. Negi made his way to the bathhouses quietly. It was early now that he thought about it. The sun wasn't that high in the sky at all. it had to be around 7 o clock. No one would be awake that early on the start of a week vacation...except Kaede. He slid open the door to the bathhouse and walked in...to a person. He fell on his bum and and he heard the other person did as well.

"I-I'm so sorry...err..." Negi started to apologize.

He looked at who he was apologizing to and recognized her. It was Zazie Rainyday from his class. She was unclothed so he quickly turned away.

"Z-Zazie-san! I-I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to walk in on you!" she waved his hands in front of his face, head turned away.

He didn't hear a response so he turned around. She had a towel wrapped around her this time. He looked at her face. He never really talked to her...or called on her...or anything for that matter when it involved her. He stared at the two tattoo-like things on her slim face. The blue teardrop was what caught his attention the most. It looked so...out of place on her tanned skin and stoic demeanor. She quickly shoot himself mentally, realizing he was staring at her a little too much. She didn't seem to mind...nor care. It was like she was completely aloof from the world around her. Zazie looked down at the her young teacher curiously. He looked worried. She hadn't really responded to his apology, maybe he thought she was angry with him.

"...It's...okay..." she finally broke the silence.

Negi looked relieved. He stood up and offered his hand to his student. Zazie looked at it and ignored it. She got up on her own. Negi was taken aback slightly since he was just being kind. it was kind of hard talking to her. She had a sort of aura about her that told people to leave her alone...but not in a bad way, more like she looks like she shouldn't be disturbed unless necessary. She made her way to the pool-sized bath and headed for a diving board to the side. She removed her towel making Negi turn away a second before hearing her jump. He turned back around to see her staring at him questioningly.

"...In?..." she so quietly he was amazed her heard her at all.

Negi suddenly remembered why he had come to the bathhouse in the first place. Since Zazie was there, he decided to wait until she was done. As an English Gentleman, he knows better then to watch women bathe...even if he used to bathe with his cousin (or Oneechan, she was like a sister to him) Nekane.

"Errm...I think I'll wait until your done" he said quickly before rushing out.

Zazie stared as the door slammed shut. She thought he was a little strange but he was a good kid. Suddenly, a...thing came out from the shadows. It looked as though it was made of the stuff it just came out of. It had to definite body and the only thing resembling a face would be the white mask where she guessed it's "head" was. It spoke in a low voice.

**"...May I eat him?"** it asked.

She shook her head. She thought she heard it sigh. That wasn't a good sign...it meant "They" were getting hungry which was normal but when one sighs, it indicates restlessness. She had better feed them soon. It was a horrible gift she told herself. Those...creatures. Why she could see them, she doesn't know. Why she could control them...she did not know. What she did know was that she hated them. They feed of emotions of people. Why else does she stay emotionless all the time. Hiding her emotions is what keeps them from eating hers. It took years to learn but she can completely hide any trace of emotion. If she ever played poker, she would have the ultimate poker face...well...actually she DOES play poker but thats a story for another day. A few more shadow creatures had popped up and all were looking at her. Her eyes glowed emerald green for a second as she sent her mental command. She heard a collective sigh and receded into the shadows. She had no choice...again. She got out and dried herself off. She walked out of the bath house to find Negi hanging around outside. He waved at her but she ignored him, more important matters to attend to. Negi watched her walk away quickly.

"She's sure in a hurry, I hope she's okay" he said before heading for the bathhouse...or at least he wished he had.

Negi couldn't tell through her face but her movements told him something was amiss. She was walking quickly and her hands were balled up. He dropped his clothes in a locker in the bath house and locked it before running off after his silent mystery of a student. It amazed him how fast she could move. It had only been about 4 seconds for him to go and put away his things and she was already out of view. He ran off in the direction she was headed. Thanks to his training, he soon found her within his sights. He stayed as far away as he could while keeping her in his line of view, moving from bush to bush. Zazie didn't notice him. She was quickly moving towards the road leading from the large campus grounds. She disliked using the train because there are too many people around. Those...things did not discriminate between women, children, handicapped, or the dead. Another reason why she tended to avoid Sayo who she could see clearly. Ghosts were usually leftover emotions anyway which made it all the more dangerous. She followed the forested trail. It was dark despite it being around 8 or 9 o clock in the morning. She sighed. why couldn't it be night time. It's much easier to deal with...well...she didn't have any plans, she could probably wait for it to reach 9 P.M. or so. Nah, too much time. Things might get out of hand quickly. It must be done immediately. A noise behind her, like a bush moving, caught her attention. She spun around and surveyed the trail. Negi's heart was beating a million times per second. He was afraid he'd have a heart attack. He had tripped on a tree root sticking out of the ground and had rolled into a bush loudly. He stayed as still as he could...noticing painfully that it happened to be a thorny bush at that. He could see Zazie through the foliage slightly and she was staring around. his heart nearly stopped when she started going BACK down the trail. If she walked past the bush, his cover would be blown. She stopped JUST SHORT of the bush. Was it luck...or was it the squirrel that ran out the other side.

"...Squirrel..." she murmured to herself letting out a sigh of relief and turning around.

Negi thanked God, Buddha, Shiva, or whatever god there was in the world. Only a couple steps more and...he didn't want to know what she would do to him. After about an hour's trek, the sun broke through the dense layer of the trees above. The child teacher noticed that the forested area was clearing out into a more...picturesque area. There was a nice street with nice trees along the side, almost a welcoming scene with the rays of the sun twinkling through the leaves which were a nice green. It would probably have been better if it was Autumn but Negi appreciated it's innate beauty. He noticed that between the trees were flower bushed lined all along the street. He noticed a sign nailed to a nearby maple tree. "Nature Restoration and Preservation brought to you by TrueSuffering Inc. Please remember to avoid littering...or else you will find out why we are called TrueSuffering Inc." Negi stared at the sign for a second. A very..._convincing_ sign indeed. Negi quickly jumped behind the flower bushes and crept his way along. Zazie stopped for a minute, not knowing her teacher was still following her. She always did like this area. She walked over to a bush. It had purple lilacs. She wondered if they even grew in Japan. She took a small whiff and a ghost of a smile graced her face. Negi watched on.

_"She looks so at peace here. I wonder why she was so angry befo-" _thought the boy before he saw her return to normal pretty quickly.

Zazie had felt one of the shadow creatures moving closer to her. She was slightly angry but kept it in check lest she gets herself overrun. She can't even enjoy some flowers...she really hated those things. She's wasted enough time. In a flash, she set off running as fast as she could. Negi gaped. He ran as well, noting that even with Ku Fei's training he couldn't keep up. Pumping a minuscule amount of magic into his feet to reduce friction and wind magic at his back for extra push, he quickly shot off like a cannon. Thankfully for him, he didn't sound like one. He dropped his magic slightly on both areas to prevent from zooming past her and exposing himself. within minutes, they both broke into an open field just east of the area. Negi ducked into the tall grass immediately, ignoring the pain from stopping so abruptly. Running at that speed and stopping immediately was no problem, but with the gathered wind magic, it created a shockwave of moving air behind him that slammed into his back. Zazie headed for the city once more except by walking that time. Negi army crawled along the grass quietly until they finally reached the city. It was already 10 o clock if Negi's watch indicated anything. Zazie was walking along a dark, shady area of the eastern part of town. Zazie walked through, uncaring. She had been there before. It was then she finally stopped. She needed to find...victims. She thought the last words with spite and venom lacing her thoughts. There were a few hobos but it wasn't enough. There had to be large traces of emotion to rile up her...companions. They walked past a bar and instantly stopped. Negi watched on curiously as Zazie stared at the bar. He saw her move out of the way quickly.

"WHO DA FUCK D'YUH THINK YUH ARE?!" came a loud, slurred yell from inside.

"SOMEONE BETTER 'N YOU!" came a 2nd voice.

"WHAT?! THA'S IT! GET 'IM BOYS!" came the first voice.

"SICKIN YER DOGS ON ME? HAH! SHOW 'EM AN ASS WHOOPIN BOYS!" came the 2nd voice.

There was a loud chorus of yelling. Without warning, there was crashing, smashing, and finally someone was thrown out the window. Zazie had retreated to a safer distance. Negi had the same idea and stayed out of their way, and out of Zazie's sight. The first guy, a burly, bearded man in a bikers outfit was smashing his large fists into the other guy's face. the other guy, a skinner guy with a Mohawk and piercings on his nose, lips, and eyelids blocked a couple fists and used his legs to mule kick the guy off him. A 3rd man, skinny with a tattoo of a tiger on his face and sporting a biker outfit as well jumped out the window, narrowly dodging a smashed, glass wine bottle that was aimed for his head. Another man, probably an ally to the Mohawk guy rushed out. He was much larger then his friend. He was probably all muscle, no brain. They went 2 on 2 as fists and kicks flew. There were probably others in the bar fighting. Everyone else on the street cleared out. They obviously did NOT want to get in between the two gangs. Negi noticed Zazie hadn't moved away. Zazie look on at the pointless fight. they were all drunk if the stench of alcohol wasn't any indication. She sighed. It was always the drunk ones who get emotional over stuff but...she silently prayed for them as her eyes started glowing emerald. Negi was hiding behind a telephone pole. He couldn't see Zazie's face from the angle but he did see her turn specifically to the bar once more. Zazie stared...and commanded mentally...

_"Your prey...go..."_

Negi gasped. He saw them! Those shadowy creatures, he's read about them back at the magical academy. Dopplegangers! Non-magical people can't usually see them except for a few cases. As most people would say, they are a person's "double" that later bring great misfortune. That fact is only half true. From what he remembered about them, they are actually shades. No real form or shape UNTIL they drain the emotions of people. Said person will feel empty in what most refer to as a "trance" in which they see a "double" of themselves. The truth is that as they drain a person's emotions, they take on that person's form, literally becoming a "double". Most people who get their emotions stolen are left feeling empty inside, thus claiming that "they would soon die". Humans can't live without their emotions and usually die later on which led to the myth of dopplegangers. He stood there horrified. It was rare to see 1 doppleganger let alone a practical herd. the four gang members ceased fighting as the things grabbed hold. They paled as their eyes rolled into the back of their heads. Some even foamed at the mouth. A few yells from the bar indicated the other gang members were being drained as well. Negi couldn't stand there and let Zazie be drained. He chose to grab her as they were distracted. He jumped from behind the pole.

"ZAZIE-SAN!" he yelled out.

Zazie turned to him shocked. Where had he come from?! There were leftover dopplegangers who turned in his direction. Zazie inwardly cursed. They were going after her teacher! Negi noticed it as well. Before Zazie could react, Negi sprinted foward, magic at full blast, pumping right through his legs, moving at a speed that would make a certain magical nun jealous. He can't fight them off. they can't be hurt by physical means and are highly resistant to magic. They are some of the magical world's most dangerous creatures. He charged past the monsters, the shockwave blowing them away. Within milliseconds, Zazie was in his arms and Negi was halfway back to the school campus. Zazie could barely breathe at the speed he was going. Race cars ain't got nothing on him. Back in the forested area, he slowed down and came to a full stop. He placed Zaie back on the ground as she patted her hair back down.

"Zazie-san (huff)...I-I'm sorry I had to (huff)...grab you like that (huff)..." the boy gasped, trying to get a breath in.

"...Why?..." she asked, seriously confused.

"Th-There were (huff)...dangerous things around (huff)..." he said, trying to be as vague as possible.

She rose an eyebrow. Could he see...nah...couldn't be. But...

* * *

**_Flashback_**

_Negi had returned from the dean's office. The whole class had heard the good news over the intercom. He opened the door to meet his cheering class._

_"Ahhhh, Negi-sensei! I am so happy to hear you have passed your test to become a full-fledged teacher. Please take the flowers as a token of my lo-" started Ayaka but wwas quickly silenced by the rest of the class._

_"Neeegi-kun! You did it!" Makie congratulated._

_"Great! I thought we might have been last for a minute there" Asuna said._

_"We did the best we could do and I guess it paid off-de gozaru" Kaede spoke up._

_"Whatever-aru! Negi-kun passed! That's all we need to worry about!" Ku Fei yelled out as the class cheered._

_The beginnings of a party were already in the making. Zazie watched with a look of, possibly boredom. Mana asked if Zazie wanted some punch. she shook her head and Mana shrugged. Zazie watched her classmate head down and grab a drink. Negi was enjoying himself as he mingled with the others. He saw Sayo in the corner near Yuna who was in a wheelchair as her bones healed. He made his way over to the two of them._

_"Yuna-san, are you alright?" Negi asked worried._

_"Oh, yeah I am. Doctor just said I needed to let myself heal for about 2 weeks" Yuna said, sounding a little disappointed._

_"No basketball Yuna-san" Negi said sternly, knowing full well why she was disappointed._

_"Awww" she whined but left it at that, she knew she couldn't argue._

_"I'll wheel you around a bit if you want me to" he offered._

_"Nah, Kaede said she'll help me around" she said pointing at the ninja who was currently eating some cake the class chef Satsuki and mad genius Chao had made "...although you can wheel me over to that cake"_

_Negi chuckled. Obviously SOMEBODY had a sweet tooth. He grabbed hold of Yuna's chair and wheeled her over to the cake that Natsumi and Chizuru were help passing out. Apparently, they both chose (which means Chizuru chose and forced Natsumi to go with her) Chao Bao Zi as a place for a part-time job. Zazie's eyes wandered around the group. Mana and Kaede were both going against each other in some strange contest...AGAIN. It was a drinking contest which, of course, had no alcoholic beverages. It was tied up at the moment, both having downed 38 cups of punch and still going strong. Asakura was holding betting pools...AGAIN. Sakurako would probably win...AGAIN. God, that girl has to be the LUCKIEST person born. Her eyes fell on her teacher who was watching Yuna scarf down the cake in front of her...until she started choking slightly. A cup of water and she was fine again. Her eyes wandered to someone who was usually on the back of her mind. Sayo was floating around as usual during parties. Watching but never able to enjoy it. She felt pretty bad for they little ghost and would love to befriend her but...there were certain...reasons...as to why she couldn't. She watched the ghost drift around. She looked kind of out of place amongst the living people with their light to tanned skin compared to her pale to white. She was about to turn away until she saw something that caught her interest. Sayo had flown over to the child of a teacher and tapped his shoulder. Maybe for a prank or something, but it held her interest. She was shocked...completely and utterly SHOCKED to see Negi turn around and greet her...well...with obvious control. Probably wanted to just yell out "Hi Sayo" and wave but then people might think he's a little...touched in the head, if you catch her drift. Sayo didn't hold back and practically glomped him. She saw him stagger and blush at the close contact (Can a ghostly hug be considered close contact?) as Sayo giggled. Her teacher could see the poor ghost. She felt slightly relieved to see she now had a friend but was at the same time beyond curious about the kid. She never really spoke to him or interact with him much...aside from the time she went to find him for his welcoming party. She heard a thump to the side and saw Mana and Kaede both on the ground, unconscious with many cups littered on the ground. She could have sworn she saw them spitting up the punch in a comedic "water fountain" way. Sakurako was cheering, winning her bet as always. Apparently, she had bet on tie. Strange how no one ever bets what she bets on. She turned back to Sayo and Negi to see them separate. She wondered why for a second just as the bell rung to tell everyone school's out. She didn't stick around and left quietly. The party had moved all the way to the dorms and lasted throughout the rest of the night._

_**Now back to our previously aired program**_

* * *

Zazie's flashback ended in her mind as Negi finally caught his breath.

"...From...what?..." she asked.

"Wha? Uh...ummm...th-there was danger like...umm...th-those gangsters!" he answered, thinking of some excuse.

Zazie could see right through him. He really was a horrible liar...but she won't call him out. She thought of telling him about her...abilities but...he's just...not trustworthy yet.

"Err...Thank you..." she answered.

"Uhhh...err...n-no problem" the boy answered somewhat uncertainly.

He was a tad suspicious that she bought his lie so easily. Even he knew he wasn't that great a liar but hey, if he was lucky enough not to have to explain it, he'll take the offer. They stood there in an awkward silence for a couple of minutes before Negi spoke up.

"U-Umm...What were you doing in the city anyway?" he asked.

"...Business..." she answered without hesitation.

"Oh, do you have a job or something? I heard Asuna-san had a job in the city. I guess I wouldn't be surprised if another student was working hard for their future" he said.

Zazie just stood there and nodded at whatever he said. Negi thought for a moment. If Zazie was headed to a job...she probably had to go back to the city...which means going back the same way he just came. Right back to those monsters...if they were still around.

"Errr...I'm guessing you have to go back to the city. I'll accompany you if you want" he offered.

Zazie had no choice but to go now. She nodded and they headed to the city. They went a different direction from the bar at Negi's beckoning. They hit a 3 way intersection shortly.

"...I'll go now..." Zazie spoke up.

"W-what? B-But what about the..." Negi started to object about leaving her alone but he saw she wasn't budging from her answer "A-Alright then...umm...bye"

Zazie walked in a random direction she had picked. Negi stood there for a bit, watching her. He had the urge to follow her again but spying twice on the same person in one day was a little...yeah...strange. It was strange he spied on her the first time but he guessed in the end, it kept her safe. He was about to head back before...

"NEGI-KUUUUN!" came a voice.

Negi turned to his right, to the other road. Konoka was running up to him holding a couple shopping bags. Negi waved awkwardly, that morning's...discovery... still made him a little embarrassed. Hopefully, she didn't know. She ran up to him quickly, all the years of running and blading to keep up with Asuna kept her pretty fit.

"Konoka-san, what are you doing in town?" he asked happily.

"I could ask you the same thing. You weren't in your room this morning when everyone woke up. Kaede said you had left early. Everyone else left a wile back and I decided to go shopping" Konoka explained.

"Oh, sorry. I didn't want to wake everyone else since you were all sleeping peacefully" he answered, his hand rubbing the back of his head out of habit.

"Negi-kun! Your 10, you should have been jumping on everyone and yelling at them to "Wake up". Your so serious sometimes" she said, placing a hand on his head and ruffling his hair.

"W-wha? I may be 10 but I'm still your teacher. I need to set an example" he complained.

"You sound like an old man" she said before grabbing his arm "Today, I'm going to make sure you enjoy yourself!"

Negi didn't have time to argue as the bubbly girl pulled him along, straight for the shopping district.

_**Meanwhile...**_

The Shadow World. Home of some of the magic and human world's most dangerous creatures. It was an exact replica of the normal world except the sky was a black and purple swirling mass with no emerald clouds and an emerald sun/moon. The buildings were the same color as the clouds while the shadows were blood red. Figures...shadowy ones with no distinct shape started appearing. It grew a mask in the middle...a doppleganger. It made it's way into a crowd of others of it's kind. The were gathered around a...man. It had the shape of one anyway. It had arms and legs made of shadows while the face was the same as the others, a pale, lifeless, white mask .

**"The boy...who kidnapped our...master...they have separated" **said the doppleganger who just appeared.

**"Master Zazie...he dared to take her..." **spoke up another.

**"Siiiiiileeeeeenccccce..." **spoke up the central monster **"Theeee booooy...hisssss powerrrrr is greeeat. Beeeeewaaaare"**

**"Sir...he is...an interference..." **spoke up another one.

**"Weeeee shalllllll ...deeeeestroooooooy hiiiim. Feeeel...for hiiiis...Maaaaaaagic...it is poooowerfullllllll..." **spoke up the "leader" of the pack.

At that moment, another one appeared in front of the leader. His head bowed in respect before uttering his news.

**"Sir...there appears...to be two...powerful magic sources..." **it said.

Doppleganger are powerful creatures. Considered the deadliest of the deadliest by many. Draining of emotions is life-threatening and those who survive will, with 99.99 guarantee, go insane. Schizophrenia, paranoia, call it what you want, they caused it all. Unfortunately for them, they are blind creatures, finding prey through their emotions or...magic power. Thus, it is easy to avoid them if you are able to hide your emotions or...are able to hide your power (or if your incredibly weak in the Magic department).

**"Threeeeeeeeats...must be eliiiiiiminaaaaaaaaated...obserrrrrrrrve theeeem...then deeeeeestroy booooth" **the leader spoke up.

**"On more bit...of news...there is a...large amount of...food...moving about..." **it continued.

**"Feeeeeeast on...iiiiiit" **the leader said, almost as though it was holding in it's drool.

_**Somewhere...**_

"AH-CHOO!"

Sayo wiped her nose as she looked up at the sky.

"Ahhh! Where has Negi-sensei gone?" she sighed as she floated off to the school.

_**Back with Konoka and Negi...**_

Konoka had pulled him into a clothing shop. Negi laughed as she did. Konoka sure did love to shop. Konoka was busy picking out boys clothes for him as he stared at her. She was so nice. She could give his Oneechan a run for her money. Maybe that's why he clung to her that night instead of Ku Fei...or anyone else for that matter. She gave off a sisterly kind of feeling...at least to him. He heard Konoka gasp and turned around.

"This one would look great on you!" Konoka yelled as she grabbed him and shoved him in the changing room.

Negi took that back. She could be a liiiiittle bit eccentric at times. With a sigh, he tried on the outfit...and many others for the next hour as Konoka dragged him all over the area. By then, Konoka was getting hungry so they looked for a good restaurant to eat at.

"So Negi-kun, wanna go eat at Red Ribbon or IPOP?" Konoka asked as she walked with him.

"It's a nice day, why eat indoors?" he asked.

"...Your right! A picnic!" she snapped her fingers wondering why she hadn't thought of that.

"Well actually I was thinking more along the lines of an outdoor restaurant but a picnic sounds fun" he said, thinking about a good place to eat.

"Fine, lets head to a grocery store so I can pick up some food to cook" Konoka said, steering them to the nearest Cal-Mart. **(I sure use alot of store parodies)**

It did not take them long to find the store and enter. The greeter was strange. He kept saying "Welcome to Wal-Mart" before a different employee corrected him. Konoka walked in first and looked around. Negi followed a short distance away. Almost immediately, he was steered to the right by Konoka. Konoka glanced to side as she pushed him along. She had spotted people they knew, the cheerleaders to be specific. Normally, she'd be happy to greet them but at the moment, she wasn't sure why, she was headed away from them. She was having alot of fun with Negi and guessed she didn't want anyone to ruin it yet. They headed to the opposite side of the store to get some fresh foods. Sakurako glanced at the door once more. She could have sworn she saw someone she knew. She shrugged and headed over to her friends. Konoka finished picking out the food and headed out with Negi tagging along from behind.

"I guess we head back to your room so you can cook" Negi spoke up.

Konoka thought for a moment. She had forgotten about that...oh wait...Asuna wasn't home. Kaede had something to do so Asuna had to look after Yuna. Konoka nodded as she led the way to the train. Negi looked at the train remembering his not so great first memories. Before they got any further, he grabbed her hand that wasn't carrying the bags of food and headed in a different direction.

"Where are you going Negi-kun?" Konoka asked, this time being dragged around.

"A different way. I don't want to take the train very much" he answered truthfully.

"Really? Why not?" she asked.

"Well...you see..." he started.

As they walked, he talked about his first time heading out for the school he would be teaching.

"Well, for starters, I was late to the bus. I missed it since I had overslept thanks to the time differences" he explained.

"Ahhh, I remember doing the exact same thing when I first got here..." she said reminiscing.

"Oh yeah, I heard you lived somewhere else when you were young" he said.

"Really? Who told you?" she asked.

"Umm...Asuna-san. You see, I was looking through the class records and noticed something strange. It happened to be on your folder...well...on two folders actually but I won't mention the other one. Most people had a "Place of Origin"...you know, a hometown. All I saw on your's was "??". I found that strange since the Dean was your grandfather and all, he should know where you were from. So one day it slipped out as I was tutoring Asuna-san at English...and Math...and Social Studies...again. She yelled at me for going through people's private information but she forgave me since I was trying to learn more about my students. Are you completely sure Asuna-san isn't bipolar? Anyway, she had said that you had come to Mahora when she was around 8. No one really knows where you came from except that during your first days, you were actually very quiet and stayed away from alot of people. That was strange considering your such a nice person and all" he summarized the story.

"Negi-kun, you really shouldn't look through people's private information" Konoka said, copying Asuna before saying "But it was true...I had to move here after...I had...OH! Look, we're here. Better get cooking!"

Negi looked up to find that they were in fact, at the dorms. Konoka was just about to say what happened and he was genuinely interested. She seemed to have purposely steered the conversation off course. If you knew Negi well enough, you would know he's very stubborn. Konoka sighed slightly. That boy was GOOD. He hooks you with that innocent "I'm just a 10 year old, curious boy" look and then BAM! You can't help telling him everything you know. Granted, he just wanted to know more about her but he should really know the difference between asking and prying. But it was a sweet gesture, he really doesn't know any better probably. Why can't any of those guys from her grandfather's "marriage proposals" have that much interest in her instead interest in the power and authority (and wealth, Konoka is quite rich) that they would gain. She brushed aside those thoughts as she prepared to cook. She didn't earn the title of "2nd best chef in class 2-A (soon to be 3-A)" for nothing! Satsuki could still cook better then anyone but people have said that she could give her a run for her money. Konoka giggle at the thought, she could NEVER beat Satsuki. She didn't have the...LOVE for cooking that Satsuki had. Negi watched her cook. He wished he could cook, that way he could make homemade meals for Nekane and Anya back home. Nekane wasn't a great chef but her food never tasted bad. (His Oneechan said it's the love she puts into it) Anya's just terrible, she gave him food poisoning for 3 weeks (in which he STILL studied and practiced magic until Anya came home and FORCED him back into bed). Maybe he could ask Konoka to teach him.

"Negi-kun, how do you want your eggs?" Konoka asked suddenly.

"Umm...Over Medium" he said.

"Alright then" he heard her say.

Nearly an hour later, Konoka had finished making bentos for the two of them and was holding a blanket for them to sit on. Now all the needed was a place to eat.

"So...got a good place to picnic at?" Negi asked.

"Hmmm...nothing really comes to mind although I think I saw a nice park near the Tatsumiya shrine" Konoka said.

"Tatsumiya...Tatsumiya...Mana Tatsumiya-san?" he asked.

"Yep. She's the daughter of the dead priest and the rightful owner of the shrine" she explained.

"I've never been there before" he said.

"Oh, we won't be going there, we're going near there to a park. It's beautiful and for some reason, very secluded" she said.

Negi nodded and off they went. He wanted to strike up the same conversation from last time but felt it better not to ask too much. He wasn't sure but it might not be something Konoka wanted to talk about. Konoka could tell...don't ask how but she could tell he was holding himself from spewing question after question at her. She was grateful. They entered a hilly area before seeing a large sign.

"Tatsumiya Shrine. May the gods watch over you all" Negi read aloud.

"Come, the park is this way" Konoka said as she dragged him to a small wooded trail.

Back behind them, a shadow started moving across the ground. It had been watching them for a while now and the two "powerful magic sources" weren't separating like it had hoped. It was starting to get hungry as well. Being in the human world causes dopplegangers like itself to get hungrier quickly. Why else does it stay in the Shadow World for so long. It trailed off after the two, unaware of it's presence but...unbeknownst to it, another presence was watching all three. She was hiding in the trees, hiding her powers until they have to be used. She silently watched the moving patch of shadows before it merged with the shadows of the trees. She wanted a couple of minutes before jumped through the trees. From the Tatsumiya Shrine, Mana hid her gun once more.

"Hmph, looks like _she's _already on it" the beautiful priestess as she continued her sweeping.

Konoka and Negi emerged into a secluded park, right in the middle of the woods. Negi felt it...the reason why so many people stay away from the area. Someone must have left wards up to keep people out and had forgotten about them. It was very beautiful there. It was a oval-like area surrounded by apple trees instead of the usual ones. The apples haven't grown quite yet but the blossoms gave the trees color that differed from the normal green. In the exact middle was a patio with a small umbrella in the middle of the table with a cross shaped sidewalk heading out from there and circling the area. Near the patio were flower pots, teeming with roses. Along the sidewalks were more potted flowers which trailed all around. At certain intervals, it had none where you could step onto the grass. At some parts were slides and swings for the children and on other parts were tables for people to enjoy reading, writing, or chatting with friends. Negi noticed a nearby sign that caught his attention. "Park Preservation and Beautification brought to you by TrueSuffering Inc. Litter and die"

_"Again?!" _Negi thought, a large sweatdrop appearing on the back of his head.

"Is something wrong Negi-kun?" Konoka asked.

"Nothing, nothing. How did you find this place?" he asked.

"Umm...truthfully, I stumbled upon it when I first came here to Mahora" she admitted.

That caught Negi's attention.

"Does anyone else know?" he asked.

"Well, I tried to bring a few people here without telling them specifically but for some reason they never wanted to get close to it. They stopped at the trail and said it looked scary and ran away" she said.

Negi filed that away for later. The wards probably exuded an aura of fear to most people. Konoka must be very brave. The thought that she could be magical didn't even cross his mind. They ignored the patio and went to a small grassy area with a clear viewing of the sky. It was sunny and the skies would stay clear until Monday. They spread the blanket and pulled out the food. They ate in silence until Konoka finally spoke up.

"I was depressed" she said suddenly, leaving Negi confused "When I first came here, I was depressed"

Negi ate slowly, finally getting what she was going on about. He swallowed whatever was in his mouth before asking the obvious.

"Why?" he stated clearly.

"Well...I...had a friend..." she started off.

From the trees, the person hiding in the shadows perked up. Said person strained their ears although feeling slightly guilty about evesdropping.

"She...was my first friend. I had lived a very...sheltered life. Thanks to my obvious influence thanks to my family's bloodline and wealth, everyone said I was constantly in danger. I was young, around 7 to be exact, and I didn't know what they were talking about. One day, my dad brought this girl to me" Konoka continued.

"What was her name?" Negi asked.

"That's a secret" she teased before continuing "She was about my age. We were both very shy and didn't really say anything. After a few days, we started getting along and I was very happy. We would play all day, get into a little bit of trouble every now and then, but it was one of the happiest times of my life. She was learning to use swords and had promised to protect me. I was just happy to have a friend but she insisted. Time passed and I was content. My friend was learning more advance styles of swordsmanship so she couldn't visit me as often but she tried her hardest to visit me as much as she could. One day...that all came crashing down. It was the afternoon and I was playing by a river. I was waiting for my friend to finish up her practice for the day. The edge of the river was slippery. Before I knew it, I was in the water, quickly getting dragged away by the current. At that moment, my friend spotted me and jumped in, trying to rescue me. I guess must have felt confident or something. She would always protect me from scary dogs and stuff but... she couldn't swim either. She kept my head above the water as long as she could and eventually, my father spotted us. He jumped in immediately and saved the both of us. The very next day, my friend was depressed saying something like "I failed you". Before I could do anything, she ran away. The same day, some important people working with my dad had claimed that I hadn't fallen and that someone was out to kill me. I was to be transfered to the care of my grandfather. I tried to find my friend...but when I found her...she ran away screaming "I failed you". I guess...my grandfather didn't want people to pry into it too much to keep me happy"

Negi felt saddened by the news...and also a little guilty since he did technically pry into in. He put down his bento for a minute.

"Umm...whatever happened to your friend?" he asked quietly.

"I wouldn't hear from her for another few years. I was so happy to see her again but...she acted differently. She seemed to keep me away from her and it made me sad and lonely but...I don't care. I was just so happy to see her again" she said.

"I'll bet you that one day, you will be good friends again" he said, determination practically spewing off him in waves.

"I sure hope so" she finished as she started eating more.

If someone listened closely, extremely closely, they would hear a drop of water land on a branch. Salty tears were running down the face of the shadowed guest. The story must have saddened her. Her sentimentality ceased quickly. She had a job to do and goddammit, she'll do it right. A shadow that had been still for a while quivered. The sudden movement caught the eyes of two people. Negi, having finished his food turned his head to the spot at the same time as the shadowed guest.

"Ish somfing wong Nehi-kyun?" Konoka asked with a mouthful of rice.

"No...I-It's nothing" Negi said, still staring at the spot.

The doppleganger from earlier was getting...nippy. Such..._emotion_...was exuding off the magic source to the right. It was sure it felt another but it faded quickly. At the moment, the magic source seemed...quite..._delectable_. If it had a mouth and arms, it would be wiping away some drool. It was getting hungrier by the minute. The shadow quivered again, it's ravenous appetite roaring. Negi did NOT miss that movement, and neither did their guest. Before the person in the trees could do anything, Negi spoke up.

"Konoka-san. We need to go" he said, a slight sense of urgency detectable in his voice.

"Huh?" she said, finishing her last mouthful with a gulp.

"We. Need. To. Go." he said as he grabbed her hand and pulled her up.

"W-What about the boxes and blankets?" she said, seeing Negi visibly sweat.

"I'll get it later. We need to move" he said and pulled her along quickly, but not running.

**"So...hungry..." **the doppleganger whispered to itself as it quickly followed the two.

It would just TASTE the fear and panic in the air. Within moments, another appeared as a 2nd shadow. Then a 3rd and so on until there was a crowd of about 12 to 13. From the trees, a person gasped. Why were there so many?! Well...12 to 13 weren't much normally but considering these creatures that hardly EVER hunt in groups of more then 1, 2 is considered a lot and 12 is an battalion. Said group receded to the shadows and slowly pursued after their prey. Negi moved quickly, holding on to Konoka's hand to help her stay balanced as they trekked through the trees. He couldn't believe it, those...THINGS! They're back?! Is it possible that the reason those wards were put up was to keep people away from them? He scratched that thought out of his mind. Konoka said she came here many times before. Had that been the case she either drained of emotions or dead by now. It didn't matter anyway, at the moment they had to GO! Konoka didn't ask questions. Negi was just a kid but he's mature and if he thought something was after them or dangerous, it would probably be best to trust him. They ran through the strangely deserted streets. Where was everyone?...Ok, it's a week off so probably on vacation but that's besides the point. They needed help! Where was Kaede...Ku Fei...SOMEBODY?! Back at the sight, the shadows converged on one spot to listen to the first one to get there.

**"Groups...split up...block them...go" **it commanded.

In groups of 4, they all disappeared, annoying the onlooker. She cursed silently. She couldn't attack them while they were in the shadows. It would be like attacking air, completely pointless and a waste of energy in the end. She quickly jumped out of the tree and ran in the direction she remembered Negi and Konoka ran in. She had better make it...or else. Negi and Konoka raced past building after building. Negi turned behind to to spot no one...or in particular, no-thing. He came to a halt to catch his breath and to allow Konoka to rest. He had been pulling her along at full speed and it was obviously tiring the poor girl.

"W-We lost them...thank god" he panted out.

"Lost what? Lost who? What were we running from?" Konoka questioned in between huffs.

"There were...ummm...people hiding in the shadows, watching us. I didn't want to frighten you but when they came closer, I knew it was time to high-tail it out of there" he explained.

"Why didn't you say so earlier?" she asked.

"Think about it. If I told you there were people with murderous intents nearby, would you have frozen in place or run?" he asked.

"I would run of course!" she said quickly.

"Are you seriously sure about that?" he said.

"Umm..." she thought about it before feeling her head droop slightly "...I...Ye-...No...I-I would have frozen in place" she finally admitted.

"If I hadn't told you anything and just asked you to run away, would it have been easier?" he asked once more.

"Y-Yes...I guess it would have been" she said.

"Then there's your reason" he grinned.

He looked around as she rested. They were in the back part of the school. Maybe if he called out, Sayo would find them and open a window...wait...that might not be a good thing. Ghosts equal strong residual emotions. Dopplegangers EAT emotions, the stronger...the tastier. He had probably just did the single-most WORST thing possible. He might have just led them to a feast. In that instant, he saw them. Shadows had appeared on the ground. to the left...to the right...circling them from the front...and a wall behind them. A sudden scream alerted him to another presence. It was a familiar voice...coming from INSIDE the school. He spun around quickly, staring straight at the wall. Konoka couldn't tell what he was doing. Negi stared wide-eyed. Sayo...did they...get Sayo? A certain pale ghost flew out of the wall, crying her eyes out. She stared at Negi and Konoka for a second before clinging onto Negi for dear life...err...afterlife.

"NEGI-SENSEI! IT WAS HORRIBLE! THERE WERE THESE THINGS THAT POPPED UP OUT OF NOWHERE AND THEY CAME CLOSER AND I TRIED TO GET AWAY BUT MORE CAME AND ONE TOUCHED ME AND THE PART THEY TOUCHED STARTED DISINTEGRATING (She showed her skirt at that point where there were indeed, large holes which made Negi shut his eyes because they were revealing a lot about her taste in panties) AND I TRIED TO RUN AWAY AND THEN I FOUND YOU AND THEN...AND THEN...WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" she cried.

Negi patted her on the head discreetly.

"It's okay Sayo-san, don't cry. It's alright" he whispered so Konoka didn't overhear.

"W-What are those things?!" Sayo cried out, the same time as Konoka.

Negi spun around to see the shadows come out of the ground and form the masks and mounds...wait a minute...

"Y-You can see them Konoka-san!?" he gaped.

He was pretty sure only magical people could see them. Is it possible she had latent magical abilities...well...she IS related to the dean after all and the dean IS a powerful mage, it's not THAT unlikely.

"O-Of course I can! Wh-what are they?!" Konoka yelled out.

"I-It's hard to explain but lets just say they are like that thing from the library" he said quickly, a sobbing Sayo still clinging on to them.

Elsewhere, our shadowy guest panted.

"WHERE ARE THEY?!" she screamed into the sky.

"Mahora Academy" came a voice behind her.

She spun around, sword in hand, only to be blocked. A small metallic ring echoed out as Mana put her gun down after blocking the large sword.

"Mana" she said.

"Is trying to lop off my head any way to greet a friend" Mana grinned.

"I don't have time for this. I apologize for nearly decapitating you but there is an urgent matter to attend to" she said quickly before running off.

"Heh, she never changes" Mana smirked as she followed.

Negi grabbed Konoka's hand and pulled her away. A battalion of 24 creatures stood in front of him. He had pried Sayo off and stuck her and Konoka behind him. If he didn't survive, he would make sure they did. 1 charged foward, probably to test his current abilities. It was futile for Negi to fight back anyway. They are EXTREMELY resistant to magic, on par with a newborn dragon. He didn't care, as long as his students...and friends were safe. He charged his fist with as much magic as he could and let if fly. The impact was immense. The doppleganger slid back a good 6 feet but there was BARELY scratch on it. Negi on the other hand felt drained. That had been one of his best strikes and it didn't even faze it. If only he had learned to control _Ki _like his master. He also noted that he was less worried about his students, NOT a good sign. Looks like they were brimming with confidence now. Negi was no threat to them at the moment.

"Konoka-san..._Sayo-san _(whispered)...On the count of three...please run away" he said sadly.

"N-Negi-kun?" Konoka asked, horrified.

"Negi-sensei?" Sayo looked equally horrified.

"Please...just run when I count to three..." he said.

"No...Negi-kun...don't do it" Konoka looked close to tears.

Sayo wasn't faring much better. She wished she was alive...she wished she could help him. Konoka was feeling even worse. She felt like dead weight...like the time she had nearly drown not only herself but...GOD! Please! Don't let her relive it...except this time...Negi might not come back. The shadows closed in, all headed for Negi who's emotions were running higher then the other two. Emotions filled with regret, sorrow, and even hatred. They didn't even acknowledge the other two.

"1..." he started his countdown.

"Please...Negi-kun...don't" Konoka covered her ears.

Mana and her friend ran faster.

"2..." he continued.

"Negi-sensei! Please! Don't do it!" Sayo cried.

The two arrived just as the creatures charged.

"3!" Negi yelled.

Before anyone could react, the sounds of rapid gunfire tore through the area. Some dopplegangers moved quickly while many weren't so lucky. Many had holes, punctured straight through them. Negi stood amazed, quickly looking around for whoever had just wiped out a good 3rd of the group. Without warning and faster then anyone's eyes could follow (although Negi could distinctly make out a white blur) monster after monster were suddenly cleaved in half, only the flash of what was possibly a sword was seen. 22...23...24! They all died! Konoka and Sayo were elated as Negi spun around on the spot, looking at every corner. He saw no one.

"Who's out there! Please show yourself! I wish to thank yo-" he yelled out before he heard multiple gasps.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a doppleganger latch onto him . He felt a sudden drain as he fell to his knees. A flash of a sword...a pure white feather landing in his hand...he grasped it...and everything blacked out. It would be a while before he remembers anything. Konoka and Sayo ran quickly over to him as the two saviors disappeared. They did not need the praise. It was their job (although Mana would later say she only did it for free because her friend was so desperate). Konoka grabbed onto Negi's unconscious form and prayed to the gods he was alright. She didn't know what she'd do if he was...dead. He was cold but otherwise okay. Something killed it before Negi himself was killed. She saw him clinging to a white feather and tried to remove it but he held fast. She left it there and picked him up. She rushed to the nearest hospital she could find, Sayo floating along beside her.

* * *

**Me: And there you have it! chapter 7 and the beginning of the Student Troubles Arc. Hope you enjoy it and also not hate me for practically making filler chapters.**

**Negi: Let's all hope you don't get ripped apart by your own fans for leaving them for like 3 weeks.**

**Me: I tried ok! I worked hard on this chapter since I had to basis to ANYTHING and was on vacation away from the computer alot.**

**Sayo: I wanna know what happens next! Please hurry on chapter 8!**

**Me: Alright alright, please Read and Review!**


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